Gwyneth Paltrow Opens Up About Divorce, Custody, & New Beauty Line at BlogHer Conference
Gwyneth Paltrow talks entrepreneurship. (Photo: Instagram)
On Friday afternoon at the powerhouse conference for female content creators #BlogHer15 in New York City, 42-year-old mom and actress Gwyneth Paltrow took to the stage to talk about her Goop newsletter, e-commerce, and even her divorce. She was incredibly candid and funny, and the packed audience was loving it.
Paltrow talked about the inception of Goop, explaining that she initially wanted start a website she could share just amongst her friends. “They said, you can’t start a [private] website! It will be public.” Paltrow admits, “I look back and I think, ‘what was I thinking?’ They suggested I put it in a newsletter form.” Voila! The early version of GOOP – now an insanely popular (and sometimes controversial) curated commerce site – was born. Her one regret was not thinking bigger. “I stupidly didn’t think larger when I was first doing it.”
From day one, though, Paltrow has put a great deal of herself into her project-turned-business. “I’m very passionate about travel and health and wellness and food and trying to become a better person. I was using the website to get closer to myself in a way.”
Paltrow has also used the website to get closer to her fans, removing the veil of celebrity and being incredibly open about her life and passions. She has discussed everything from colonics to announcing her divorce. At the BlogHer conference she maintained that openness, talking about how she and ex-husband, Coldplay front man Chris Martin have managed to maintain and foster a closeness to their children despite their divorce. “I’m very, very lucky in that I have a partner who is willing to do it with me in a really collaborative way,” says Paltrow of her ex-husband, Coldplay front man Chris Martin. “Fortunately, even though we couldn’t stay in a romantic relationship, our values are very much around the importance of family and the importance of those relationships.”
Though the two celebs keep things peaceful and make it work, she told the audience that the separation hasn’t been easy. “It’s been hard, and we’ve gone through really difficult times, but we’ve always said these children are our priority.” She elaborated: “What that really means is even though today you hate me and you never want to see me again, we’re going to brunch because it’s Sunday and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Paltrow elaborated on the situation, discussing the effect of the divorce on her children Apple (11) and Moses Martin (9). “I don’t know how much they’re aware of,” says Paltrow. “One of the things I said to them, originally, when we were separating is, ‘You know daddy and I are really famous, and there’s going to be a lot of stuff out there I can’t control… but you know what it is to be here in this house.” Even still, the California born blonde can’t keep Apple off of Instagram (she has a private account). Paltrow admits she likes posting photos of her kids but it’s difficult to protect them from the public eye at the same time.
Paltrow also discussed her new skincare line launching with Juice Beauty. She’s already contributing to the company’s makeup line from a creative standpoint (by developing color).“We are working on launching organic skincare in 2016, which is really exciting,” she said regarding her partnership with the San Francisco based brand. “They’ve been in the space for 10 years.” Paltrow is specifically impressed with the business’s research and development department. “I’ve been able to go and create my dream products. Clean skincare is a big thing for us.” She even projects skincare will be as important to shoppers as the food they consume. “In the next 10 or so years, people are going to get very focused – the way they did with food. We absorb 80 percent of what we put on.”
In the meantime, Paltrow fans can occupy their time by clicking through the website and reading her weekly newsletter, celebrating that she didn’t just keep her cool ideas within her inner circle.
Related:
I Tried Gwyneth Paltrow’s Diet
Gwyneth Gets a Major Marilyn Makeover
A Defense of Gwyneth’s $21,000-a-Month Beauty Habit (Kind of)
