Gwyneth Paltrow Explained Why Co-Parenting Sometimes Isn't "As Good As It Looks" In A Candid Interview With Drew Barrymore

    "I really wanted my kids to not be traumatised."

    Ben Henry
    by Ben Henry

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Gwyneth Paltrow just opened up about co-parenting with ex-husband Chris Martin, candidly telling Drew Barrymore that some days aren't "as good" as they look.

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    In an incredibly honest interview about protecting their kids during the divorce, Gwyneth explained that the process was about not "traumatising" them, despite how difficult it was.

    "I really wanted my kids to not be traumatised if it were possible," she said. "Chris and I committed to putting them first and that's harder than it looks."

    Valerie Macon / Getty Images

    "Some days you really don't wanna be with the person that you're getting divorced from. But, if you're committed to having family dinner, then you do it," the Oscar-winning actress went on.

    "You take a deep breath, you look the person in the eye, you remember your pact and you smile and you hug and you make a joke and you just recommit to this new relationship that you are trying to foster."

    Despite being heaped with praise for how she and Chris have dealt with their divorce and co-parenting, Gwyneth dispelled the narrative that it's been a walk in the park, admitting there are good and bad days.

    On her current relationship with Chris, Gwyneth admitted that it's even better than when they were married.

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    "In a way, my divorce and relationship with Chris now is better than our marriage was," she said, later adding, "We have this idea that just because we break up, we can't love the things about the person anymore that we loved and that's not true."

    This isn't the first time that Gwyneth has opened up about her divorce recently, penning a personal essay for British Vogue last month about the moment she knew the marriage was over.

    Valerie Macon / Getty Images

    "I tried to quell that knowing, to push it far down," she wrote, revealing the realisation happened while on vacation for her 38th birthday. "I tried to convince myself it had been a fleeting thought, that marriage is complicated and ebbed and flowed. But I knew it. It was in my bones."

    "In those early, dark days, I struggled to imagine what my life would be," the essay went on. "I wasn't sure how a mother goes about untangling herself from the man with whom her DNA has co-mingled. It seemed impossible, that kind of extraction or extrication."

    You can watch Gwyneth's interview with Drew Barrymore here, and you can read her full essay for British Vogue here.