No regrets. Gwyneth Paltrow revealed that while she and ex-husband Chris Martin were criticized for using the phrase “conscious uncoupling” when they split in 2014, she still thinks it was the best term.
“I definitely did not coin the phrase, but I feel despite us taking quite a lot of s–t for it when we first announced that all these years ago,” the Goop founder, 50, shared via Instagram Story on Friday, April 28, after a fan asked how she felt about “being credited for coining the phrase.”
Paltrow continued, “I feel very proud that we were able to maybe make some divorces a little bit easier [or] happier. It makes me feel pretty proud when people come up to me on the streets and say, ‘Thank you for introducing that concept because I’ve become good friends with my ex.’ I’m very happy that we were able to play a small part in that cultural shift.”
The Iron Man actress and Martin, now 46, split in 2014 after 10 years of marriage. The former couple — who share daughter Apple, 18, and son Moses, 16 — finalized their divorce in 2016.
They announced their breakup in a joint statement at the time: “It is with hearts full of sadness that we have decided to separate. We have been working hard for well over a year, some of it together, some of it separated, to see what might have been possible between us, and we have come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much we will remain separate. We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and coparent, we will be able to continue in the same manner.”
Their statement made the term go viral, and they’ve since made headlines for their pleasant post-divorce friendship.
The Oscar winner said that the Coldplay frontman is still “completely my family” despite their split. “And he would do anything for me,” she said in a September 2022 interview on CBS Sunday Morning. “I would do anything for him. He would do anything for our kids. We really did commit to wanting our children to be as unscathed by the divorce as possible.”
After her divorce from the Grammy winner, Paltrow moved on with producer Brad Falchuk, and they tied the knot in September 2018. The “Yellow” singer, for his part, has been dating Dakota Johnson on and off since 2017.
When Martin and the Fifty Shades of Grey star, 33, briefly split in 2019, Paltrow was the person who encouraged them to reconcile. “Gwyneth is the one who pushed them to do it,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly in August 2019. “Gwyneth is happy if Chris is happy.”
Martin isn’t the only ex Paltrow is friendly with. When a fan asked via Instagram in December 2022 if she is friends with any of her exes, Paltrow said she was “pretty much” pals with most of them.
“I really believe in conscious uncoupling,” she wrote at the time. “When you spend meaningful time with someone, it’s nice to have it morph into friendship. I don’t want to have bad blood with anyone, ever (if I can help it).”
