When Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin announced their “conscious uncoupling” in 2016 after 13 years of marriage, the pair knew they wanted to approach co-parenting their two children with care.
“I really wanted my kids to not be traumatized if it were possible,” Gwyneth told Drew Barrymore in 2020 about the turbulent time. “Chris and I committed to putting them first, and that’s harder than it looks.”
“But [Chris] and I both really did not want to have them experience the divorce as a trauma…,” she told Bustle in 2023. “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.”
“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,” the actress explained.
“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.”
“You could see they held it with so much hurt and anger,” she continued. “I was like, ‘That’s what I’m never going to do.’ And we really didn’t.”
Inside Chris and Gwyneth’s Co-parenting relationship
Now, over eight years later the couple remain model examples for keeping their blended family dynamic healthy.
Whilst both Gwyneth and Chris have both found long-term relationships with Brad Falchuk and Dakota Johnson respectively, their children; Apple, 19, and Moses, 17, are their focus.
“You know, there’s no book on this,” Gwyneth admitted on a Q&A in 2024 about co-parenting and finding herself as a stepmother to her partner’s two children. “Nobody tells us what to do. 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?”
“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.”
Does Chris Martin see his kids?
Despite his busy touring schedule, Chris Martin always finds the time to be a present dad. He and Gwyneth are often photographed sharing family time together, with Gwyneth herself sharing with fans pictures of their family summer holidays in 2024.
In December, the couple were spotted together once again in Paris as their eldest daughter Apple made her society debut at the Le Bal des Débutantes.
Are Gwyneth and Dakota friends?
In March 2024 Dakota spoke with Bustle about her relationship with Chris, his ex-wife Gwyneth and their two children.
“I love those kids like my life depends on it. With all my heart,” she said of Apple and Moses.
Alluding to her relationship with Chris, Gwyneth, and the kids, Dakota explained to the publication; “I grew up in a family that was so big, and I just believe in the saying ‘Blood is thicker than water.’ … The connections with people you choose are more solid than the connections to the people you’re actually born to.”
Referring to Chris, Gwyneth, Apple, and Moses as her “new family,” she added, “Even in my adult life and my new family, most of us are artists. Even the kids, they’re extraordinarily talented people. So you just are dealing with complex people.”
Who are Chris and Gwyneth’s children?
Apple Martin
Apple Blythe Alison Martin was born on May 14, 2004, in London, and her unique name made international headlines.
Gwyneth explained the name during an interview with Oprah when Apple was nine months old, explaining, “Basically it was because, when we were first pregnant, her daddy said one day, if it’s a girl I think her name should be Apple, and it just sounded so sweet and it conjures such a lovely picture for me, you know apples are so sweet and they’re wholesome and it’s biblical and I just thought it sounded so lovely, and then she was born and it became an international outrage, which I found surprising because there are people named Rose or Lily or Ivy or June or lots of pretty nouns.”
Now 20, Apple has made headlines for looking like her mum’s mini twin. Currently a Freshman at college, her mum described her as “an eminently nice person,” during an interview with Bustle. “Her values are in the right place.”
Moses Martin
Martin and Paltrow welcomed their second child, Moses Bruce Paltrow Martin, on April 8, 2006.
Now 18, the youngest child of Gwyneth and Chris often appears on his parent’s social media. In April 2023, Gwyneth penned a sweet tribute to her son on Instagram in honour of his birthday.
“Happy 17th birthday to the boy that fills my soul up every time I look at him,” Gwyneth captioned the selfie of her and her son. “@mosesmartin you are the most exceptional, kind, loving human being. You keep us all laughing with your perfect impressions and you inspire us with your harmonies. I deeply adore you more than you could ever imagine!”
