Why Gwyneth Paltrow Wouldn't 'Consciously Uncouple' on Goop Today
The actress explains why she announced her split from Chris Martin on Goop.
— -- It's been nearly 10 years since Gwyneth Paltrow launched Goop, her lifestyle newsletter, and in that time it's grown from a personal project to a business with more than 50 employees.
There are some things Paltrow said she would do differently, such as the handling of her "conscious uncoupling" with ex-husband Chris Martin.
When asked in a recent LinkedIn interview if she would post the same announcement to Goop today, Paltrow responded, "That is a good question. Not in the same way. It sort of wouldn't be appropriate now. It is a much bigger business and I'm not sure it would be the right place to do something like that. I'm not sure. That's a good question."
She continued, "At that time, Goop wasn't the size that it is now, there were a lot less people. It was a very, very personal project for a long time and I wrote in the first person all the time, so it wasn't like a break. Now if you read the content, it is not in the first person anymore. At the time, it was still very small and very personal."
In 2014 the Oscar winner and the Coldplay front man announced they were splitting after 10 years and two kids together.
"It was such a difficult time in my life and I was trying so hard to protect my children and my family, Chris included," she said. "We were both fragile. It was really tough. To me it felt like this is a quiet way to do this and it is contained."
Instead, her use of the phrase "conscious uncoupling" caused a media frenzy.
Looking back now at that and other business decisions she's made, Paltrow told LinkedIn, "The punk rock kid in me is essential to my decision making, but she needs to be tamed and she definitely needs to think before she speaks."
Still, the 43-year-old actress said she's never felt more professionally fulfilled.
"I (basically) walked away from a career where people kissed my a-- to being grilled by a VC (venture capitalist) or my board. I used to worry about myself and myself alone, and now I am responsible for the livelihoods of 50+ people," she said. "Even though I am solidly in the trenches every day, Goop is on its way to being much bigger than I am. A solidly un-Hollywood dream."