'Joshua Jackson spoke about the difficulty of co-parenting. I have feedback.'

Joshua Jackson, forever our Pacey from Dawson's Creek and now the star of Doctor Odyssey, recently appeared on Jesse Tyler Ferguson's podcast Dinner's On Me to discuss co-parenting his daughter Juno with ex-wife Jodie Turner-Smith.

When a man in the public eye speaks candidly about fatherhood and co-parenting after divorce, you'd think we'd celebrate this vulnerability. But as I scrolled through the reactions, it was quite the opposite.

They share 50-50 custody of their five-year-old. I am also a co-parent, with 50-50 custody of children. His comments were thoughtful, vulnerable, and deeply personal — yet have somehow managed to stir controversy.

Watch: Dr Golly on how parenting changes the brain. Post continues below.

What Joshua Jackson said about co-parenting.

Jackson reflected on his experience of growing up without a present father and how that shaped his determination to be different.

"It's my job, shared with my ex-wife, to do everything we can to nurture you, cultivate you, and give you all the tools you need in life. But man, it is not lost on me that I am getting an opportunity to experience a father's love in a way that I never experienced it," he said.

"I am surprised at how much of the experience of fatherhood is self-healing."

Most powerfully, he emphasised his unwavering commitment to his daughter through divorce and co-parenting.

"If I ever did anything to estrange my daughter from myself, I would be bereft. I actually can't conceive of it because I can't even, I don't even want to think of the pain that that would be, right?" he said.

Regardless of how messy the divorce is, beautiful the divorce is, easy, hard the co-parenting is, I think this generation of dads is understanding, like, 'I need to be here. It's going to be hard, but this is important, and I've got to do this.' For me, there's no other option. It's the great and beautiful purpose of my life.

"My father's response to difficulty was to run away. And instead of doing that, I've had the opportunity to give my daughter the opposite experience."

He even expressed empathy for his late father.

"I find myself for the first time with a great deal of sympathy for him. Because the pain that he must have lived with, to have four children in the world and essentially no relationship with any of them," he added.

The mixed reactions.

The internet, being the internet, had thoughts.

Some questioned why Jackson's commitment to co-parenting deserved praise: "It's a sad day when this is seen as an admirable thing. That baby is 50 per cent yours, so you need to be there."

Others rolled their eyes at the very notion: "Sooo this generation of men understands being a father means...being a father? Got it."

And there were those who seemed to misinterpret his words entirely: "Why is this man talking like taking care of his own child like it's an admirable sacrifice that he's willing to do?"

Here's my feedback.

Are we even listening to the same interview?

Jackson never once framed his parenting as a sacrifice. Quite the opposite — he called it "the great and beautiful purpose of my life." He wasn't asking for a medal for meeting basic parental responsibilities. He was sharing his journey of breaking generational patterns of absent fatherhood.

This isn't about lowering the bar for fathers. It's about acknowledging that we're in a transitional period where men are redefining what fatherhood means. This is the first generation where equal parenting is widely expected and normalised. The shift from "provider" to "fully engaged parent" represents genuine social progress.

And yes, it can be challenging — for everyone. Parenting at times can be hard for all of us. Co-parenting after divorce can be even harder. Can we not allow space for people, regardless of gender, to acknowledge that difficulty while still fully embracing the responsibility?

What struck me most about the criticism was how it seemed designed to shut down vulnerability. The moment a man — particularly a famous one — opens up about emotional growth through parenting, we're quick to dismiss it as performative or unworthy of mention.

But as others wisely pointed out: "He said this in direct comparison to his own father, who abandoned him and his siblings back in the 80s without a second thought after his parents' marriage broke up."

Context matters. Personal history matters. Generational healing matters.

So, my feedback to anyone criticising men for being vulnerable, or for sharing their experiences with co-parenting (when they are present and doing the work), is please stop.

We're in the process of redefining masculinity for the men in our lives, and for the boys we are raising. They need to be allowed to be vulnerable. And we need them to be able to.

If we're serious about breaking down harmful masculine stereotypes, the number one weapon is vulnerability. And that's exactly what Joshua Jackson offered.

When a man speaks openly about navigating the emotional complexities of fatherhood — especially in the wake of divorce and his own childhood wounds — that's not something to mock. It's something to welcome, because it creates space for other men to do the same.

For every father struggling to find his footing in co-parenting, for every man working to heal his own childhood wounds while raising children, for every boy learning what healthy masculinity looks like — these conversations matter.

So perhaps instead of the eye-rolls and snarky comments, we might try something radical: listening.

Feature Image: Instgram @vancityjax / supplied.