For Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green, co-parenting is going "as well as it can."
That's how the actor described his and his famous ex's current parenting dynamic, just a few months after he personally confirmed the news of their separation in May. The two, who had been together on and off for more than a decade, are parents to sons Noah, 7, Bodhi, 6 and Journey, 3. Green is also dad to 18-year-old Kassius with Vanessa Marcil.
"There's no rule book to it," Green said of co-parenting with Fox on a new episode of the Hollywood Raw podcast. "There's no way of doing it right or doing it wrong. We're learning as we go. The important thing for us is just communicating as much as we can."
Their new family dynamic has also meant being realistic about what their youngsters are experiencing.
"I think for us...the realization of that we can't take the view that it won't affect the kids, because it will," he noted. "I think it's up to us, and parents in general, how it affects your kids...whether it's a really negative experience for them or it's ok and they feel safe in it and they feel loved...and they feel like, you know, everyone still loves and respects everyone, things are just different. But, it's not bad different, it's just different."
As for his longtime other half, Green had nothing but considerate and kind words for Fox. "I wish Megan the absolute best in everything," the actor said. "I want her to be completely happy for her and for the kids. That's super important."
"Nobody wants to be around somebody that's unhappy because nothing good comes out of that," Green acknowledged. "That's a terrible situation, but we're taking it day by day and this is insane. This happened at an unfortunate time that nobody could have predicted with quarantine and the virus and all of that, where the news cycle is a bit bigger than we were prepared for or are used to, but it is what it is...You roll with the punches."
The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum also revealed that he did not find out about his ex's new romance with Machine Gun Kelly by reading about it "or anything like that."
"I found out in my own way," he told podcast hosts Dax Holt and Adam Glyn. "That's as much detail as I'll give you on that one."
Now, as their separate personal lives make headlines, don't expect either star to keep up with what the other is doing.
"I try and not read anything and not look at anything and not involve myself in it," Green said. "Just keep my head down and do what I do and focus on the kids and all of that and I know she's gonna do the same thing."
He also defended her against current criticism over her parenting while she's away. "Everybody's judgmental right now because she's out of the country working and she's not around," he addressed. "This is what we do. We travel and we work and it's no different now than it's been before, except that we are no longer together. This is what we've been doing for 15 years. We've been traveling and working."
"When one person is traveling and working, the other one will step in and take care of things at home and take care of the kids and this situation is no different," Green further explained. "It's not for lack of caring. Megan loves her kids and would do anything for them and has and will continue to."
As for his current relationship status, he set the record straight after photos emerged of him out on separate occasions with Tina Louise and Courtney Stodden in June. During the podcast interview, he noted he met both women on Instagram and had no idea who Stodden was prior.
"I've been single this whole time," the actor said. "I'm open to meeting somebody. My focus honestly right now is on myself and healing with all of this and my kids and them experiencing it the best way that they can. I can't really put a label on what I'm doing…What I'm doing compared to how its been portrayed are two completely different things."
Green explained that he has behaved much like other people who date. "Some people use dating apps. They talk to multiple people. They go on multiple dates. They spend time with people until you feel a connection with somebody and then something builds from there," he said. "What's unfortunate for me in this situation is I'll literally go on one date with somebody, not even a date, just like meet somebody, have lunch and all of sudden it's written as like, 'Oh, his new fling' and 'Ooh he's playing two women at the same time.'"
"No," he countered. "I literally spent one time with each of these women. I'm not playing anybody...My life is just much more under a microscope than somebody else's."
The star also highlighted how paparazzi photos and resulting reports can misconstrue how often he actually went out. "It's not like I have spent an active week going out and seeing somebody," he said.
However, he also finds criticism for going out with multiple women unfair. "When I hear that complaint or that comparison of like, 'Oh, he's talking to multiple women,' it's like…'Yeah? Isn't that dating?'...It doesn't mean I'm a s---ty person. That's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to meet people and experience life."
Green continued, "When you start finding commonalities with somebody, then it becomes something bigger. But, you have to be willing to get out there and put yourself out there. But, I get judged for it, I think, unfairly."