Amy Poehler and Will Arnett Share Co-Parenting Insights

 Amy Poehler and Will Arnett are opening up about their relationship as co-parents.

On an upcoming episode of the SmartLess podcast, the Parks and Recreation actress, 53, joins the Arrested Development actor, 54, along with his podcast co-hosts Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes for their 250th episode. Poehler and Arnett, who wed in 2003 and separated in 2012, opened up about how they've worked together to raise their two boys, Abel, 14, and Archie, 16.

Arnett, who also shares 4-year-old son Alexander with his girlfriend Alessandra Brawn, 38, acknowledged that although it took some time to get to where they are now, he's proud of their relationship.

“I’m really, really lucky to have her as a partner in this way. There aren’t many people I speak to more than I speak to her, which is weird — you know what I mean? But it’s great,” Arnett said of Poehler. “She is somebody that I still run a lot of stuff by."

"She’s the person I go to, like, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about doing this.’ Whether it’s life or work, I really seek her counsel because it’s important to me — because I trust her," he continued. "She’s awesome.” 

 Both being comedians, the former couple found a way to inject humor into the conversation.

“Our youngest saw my schedule on the kitchen table and said, ‘You’re doing SmartLess? Does Dad know?’ And I said, ‘No, don’t say anything,’ ” Poehler recalled.

When she was asked about why it took her so long to come onto the show, the mom of two teased the podcasters, saying she “wanted to wait” until SmartLess gained traction before agreeing to appear. “I usually give something five years until I try it,” she quipped. 

The conversation also revealed genuine moments between Arnett and Poehler and gave insight into their relationship as co-parents. Arnett praised the Mean Girls alum for her ability to “listen” to their two sons. 

“Amy, you’re really good at this and you help me to do this in concert with you,” Arnett said. “I don’t come by it naturally because that’s not how I was raised.” 

 Despite their very public careers, Poehler and Arnett have co-parented their sons away from the spotlight.

In June 2024, the Inside Out 2 actress gave a rare parenting update about her sons on an episode of Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, explaining that giving advice to teenagers isn't always easy.

“Sometimes I see them disconnect when I'm talking,” she said, adding, “Why can't we stop at the empathy part and not have to give the fix part?”

“So I've got teens now and I am learning that the way to keep them talking is to not do the second part, to do the part of, that happened to me too," she explained.