Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Marie ClairePatrick Dempsey will always have Jillian Dempsey's back.
The estranged couple attended the inaugural Marie Claire Image Maker Awards at Chateau Marmont in L.A. Tuesday. Kristen Stewart showed up to honor Jillian, her makeup artist. "There are makeup artists, and then there are true artists. That's what it takes to create an image. Jill falls under the latter," Stewart, 25, told the magazine. "There are few of those in this business."
Jillian, 41, modeled a lacy LBD and a black blazer, while Patrick, 50, wore a suit and a gray shirt. The beauty pro—whose clients include Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Winslet—told the magazine she needs "good lighting to make someone look amazing," and it appears she did just that while getting ready for the night. It was actually a family affair, as Jillian and Patrick posed for a picture together and were even photobombed by two of their three kids together.
It wasn't the first time Jillian and Patrick have been out in public together since announcing their breakup a year ago, but it was their first time attending a public event as exes. "It is with careful consideration and mutual respect that we have decided to end our marriage," they told E! News in a statement last January. "Our primary concern remains the well being of our children, and we ask with gratitude that you respect our family's privacy at this very sensitive time."
It's unclear if Jillian and Patrick are working towards a reconciliation, as neither has discussed the inner workings of their relationship in the press (and understandably so). In April 2015, the Dempseys prepared to list their $14.5 million Malibu estate for sale. Seven months later, the friendly exes were photographed walking hand-in-hand in the streets of Paris while Jillian was traveling the world with Jennifer as part of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 press tour. Around that time, People reported that Jillian and Patrick were "working on their relationship."
Patrick, whose character was killed off ABC's Grey's Anatomy last year, spent the fall filming Bridget Jones's Baby with Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth. "It's completely reinvigorated me," he told Entertainment Weekly in December 2015. "I've enjoyed it immensely, getting back to something that has a beginning, middle, and end. It's just a completely different approach. With Grey's, you're just grinding it out. In this instance, you take the time to get through things." In spite of his exit from the series and a looming divorce, he added, "It's been an incredible year."
Expect to see more of Patrick on the big screen in 2016. "Romantic comedies as a genre are a bit lost at the moment. Collin Firth and I were talking about this. You look back at the movies that were done in the '30s and the '40s and the writing and the quality of the writing. It's a bit of a lost genre," he said. "So, I would be open to that and I'm known for that. And that's OK. But I certainly would love to do a thriller. I would love to do something that's an action movie."