Friends forever. Gwyneth Paltrow spoke to Marie Claire in its February 2015 issue about her “conscious uncoupling” from estranged husband Chris Martin, and where they currently stand in their relationship.
“There was nothing dramatic or anything,” the Mortdecai actress, 42, said of her breakup. “I had built my life on trying to be all things to all people, and I just couldn’t do it anymore, and I really had the sense that I wasn’t allowed to have needs, and I had to prove my specialness or self-worth by doing all this stuff and taking care of everybody else, and I just sort of hit a wall.”
Despite their headline-making split last March, Paltrow said she and the Coldplay rocker, 37, remain close pals. “We’ve worked really f—ing hard to get to [this] point,” the Goop founder noted. “But we’re very, very close, and it’s so nice. I feel like it’s, in a way, the relationship we were meant to have.”
Indeed, the exes have remained amicable, celebrating holidays together with their kids Apple, 10, and Moses, 8.
The multi-hyphenate said she’s trying to be the best mother possible to her children. “I think we are all genuinely doing our best,” she shared. “It’s hard to have children and a career, and all some women seem to do is judge other women’s choices. I find that demoralizing and unhelpful. Where is the wisdom coming out of this situation? I don’t see where this is getting us anywhere in terms of a cultural discussion.” (Paltrow received some criticism from her peers in Hollywood last May after she claimed that celebrity mothers have tougher schedules than normal working moms.)
Paltrow admitted she longs for women to support each other. “I know what I want to do, and I’m going to do it,” Paltrow mused to Marie Claire. “I don’t care so much about the men, but I wish that women were slightly more understanding of other women.” (The actress was on the receiving end of several biting remarks last year including one from lifestyle guru Martha Stewart, who said Paltrow should “be quiet” and stick to acting.)
Still, Paltrow stood up for her fellow females, especially in the workplace. “I’m in meetings with investment bankers, VC firms, private equity firms—you name it, across the board, men,” she told Marie Claire. “Women in 30 minutes can get more accomplished than men in two hours.”
The February issue of Marie Claire hits newsstands on Jan. 13.
