Gwyneth Paltrow looked back on her divorce from Chris Martin in a new interview with Bustle.
In the cover story, the 51-year-old actress — who shares Apple, 19, and Moses, 17, with Martin — revealed she created a ‘data collection’ to help prepare her kids for the split.
The Goop founder said she wanted to research other people whose parents had divorced to help decide how she would approach the matter in 2016.
She told the magazine: ‘My kids are great. They’re grounded and grateful and funny.
‘But [Chris Martin] and I both really did not want to have them experience the divorce as a trauma. We knew it would be hard, of course, but we didn’t want them to ever feel in the middle, or that one of us was slagging off the other one.’
Candid: Gwyneth Paltrow looked back on her divorce from Chris Martin in a new interview with Bustle
Hot stuff: The mother-of-two slipped into red hosiery for an accompanying photoshoot
Cheeky! The lifestyle guru also modeled a white look, flashing her bum in a pair of briefs
Paltrow explained, ‘At that time, I did a very me thing, which was when I knew I wanted to get a divorce, I did this data collection of talking to adults who had been products of a broken home.’
Her research showed her that the biggest struggle for children whose parents split up was if they ‘wouldn’t speak to each other.’
She added: ‘Every single one of them said, “I didn’t care that my parents got divorced. That wasn’t it.
‘”But the fact that they wouldn’t speak to each other, that they couldn’t both sit at a dinner table for my birthday…” They said that was the most awful thing.’
The blonde beauty continued, ‘You could see they held it with so much hurt and anger. I was like, “That’s what I’m never going to do.” And we really didn’t.’
Gwyneth — who has remained close to Chris since their breakup — recently shared parenting advice, urging people to ‘trust your instincts.’
She told fans during an Instagram question and answer session: ‘Definitely my best parenting advice, and I say this all the time, is: mother knows best.
‘Trust your instincts. If you have any questions about this food, that food, anything, I really believe that you know the answer implicitly and just trust your instincts.’
The process: Paltrow explained, ‘At that time, I did a very me thing, which was when I knew I wanted to get a divorce, I did this data collection of talking to adults who had been products of a broken home’
Va va voom: The silver screen siren put on a sexy display during the photo session
She told the magazine: ‘My kids are great. They’re grounded and grateful and funny’
The Bustle sit-down comes after the multihyphenate joined Vogue’s 73 Questions series earlier this month.
Quizzed on what has surprised her most about motherhood, she answered: ‘How much love there is in this thing.’
She was also asked which characteristics her kids have inherited from her.
‘I think Moses got his deliberation from me and Apple, her sense of humor,’ she replied.
Since the dissolution of her marriage to the Coldplay frontman, she has moved on with husband Brad Falchuk.
He is father to two children as well — daughter Isabella, 19, and son Brody, 17.
Paltrow discussed becoming a stepmother in an Instagram Q&A over the summer, revealing, ‘I did find it really hard at first.
‘You know, there’s no book on this; nobody tells us what to do,’ she admitted.
Flirty look: Paltrow flashed her cleavage in a plunging ivory tank top
Cute: Gwyneth got dolled up and coated red lipstick on her pout
Leaving her mark: The Goop founder proudly displayed the name of her lifestyle brand
Another look: The megastar achieved a retro feel as she held an old-school telephone to her ear
Cushy: The glamazon luxuriated on a pink pouf as she posed for the camera
Svelte! The beauty showed off her endless legs in white briefs and sky-high heels
The forthcoming star added, ‘And in fact, all of the existing media around what a stepmother is casts us in this evil, villainous light. So it’s kind of like trying to avoid land mines.
‘And then you’re going into a family with dynamics. And there’s all kinds of fear around loss and what does this person mean?’
She then noted, ‘But for myself, the minute I decided, and fully embodied the idea that my step kids were my kids and I love them just as much and I gave them the same rules and boundaries, and just kind of whole-heartedly went for it, then the easier the whole thing got. And now it’s pretty great.’
