TOGETHER APART

Gwyneth Paltrow Reveals Who Came Up With Her Viral Divorce Phrase

Avoiding the “D-word” was all about the kids, she explains.

To the whole world, the official end to a marriage is divorce. To Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay singer hubby Chris Martin, it was a “conscious uncoupling.” The crazy phrase haunts Paltrow to this day, the 53-year-old actress revealed. She said it was meant to describe her and Martin’s (49) efforts in 2014 to remain a family for their children even as they split as a couple, she told the podcast Friends Keep Secrets. The Goop mogul and Martin—who share Apple, now 22, and Moses, now 20—wanted to make the split as pain-free as possible for their kids by continuing to spend time together. The couple “had this therapist that was really brilliant, and he sort of introduced us to the concept” of “conscious uncoupling,” Paltrow said. “We made a commitment to really put the kids first, and so what that meant was to stay a family even though we weren’t a couple.” It wasn’t always easy, she said. The family continued to have Sunday brunch together, and sometimes the mood would get heated. Then it was talk, and “fist bump and then we went back to brunch.” Their divorce was finalized in 2016, and Paltrow married TV writer and director Brad Falchuk two years later.