Gwyneth Paltrow makes rare comments about how she raises her two kids

Gwyneth Paltrow made rare comments about her parenting style on Thursday. 

The Talented Mr. Ripley actress, 52, discussed raising her two kids — daughter Apple, 20, and son Moses, 19 — revealing she encourages them to do what’s ‘true to themselves’ even if she ‘doesn’t agree with it.’

‘I think I really encourage them to be true to themselves and like to do what feels right to them,’ she told People at the Gwyneth Paltrow X Genesis House ‘The Forest Within’ exhibition in New York City.

‘I think like all the mistakes I made were being talked in or out of something,’ the star — who recently said she had a ‘rough’ time becoming a stepmother — explained. 

‘I really want them, even if I don’t agree with it, like, I want them to be really true to their idea of their purpose and their individuality.’

‘She [Apple] still has another year of college, so, you know, I’m like right, soak it in, and you know, it goes really fast,’ Paltrow added.

Gwyneth Paltrow, 52, made rare comments about parenting her two kids, daughter Apple, 20, and son Moses, 19, on Thursday; pictured 2023

The actress said she encourages them to do what’s ‘true to themselves’ even if she ‘doesn’t agree with it’; seen with her kids 

Gwyneth shares Apple and Moses with ex-husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, 48. 

Gwyneth also shared that despite their packed schedules, she’s been pleasantly surprised to find she’s actually seeing her kids more these days.

‘You know, my son’s on, they’re both on the East Coast — well, he’s on the East Coast and she’s southeast. And I did a film here in the fall, and it was great ’cause I got to see my son and stepson, who were just very close by quite a lot, which was really nice.’

Paltrow mentioned seeing Apple just this past weekend, adding that her kids ‘are coming home’ now for the summer and she ‘can’t wait.’ 

The Forest Within exhibit, an immersive experience focused on Korean heritage, is open from May 9th to June 29th, at Genesis House in New York City.

Last month Gwyneth opened up about her ‘rough and rocky’ time becoming a stepmother.

The actress admitted it took years to build trust with her husband Brad Falchuk’s children and that she now deeply regrets waiting so long before moving in with Brad after they got married.

‘In an ideal world, the relationship that you have your kids in works out, and your kids never have to experience divorce or blending families or anything like that. But a lot of times, that’s not the case,’ she said.

‘Step-parenting is a pretty tricky arena. It requires a great deal of accountability, vulnerability, understanding your triggers – and nothing quite seems to trigger somebody, especially women, like stepmothers,’ she said.

‘I think I really encourage them to be true to themselves and like to do what feels right to them,’ she told People at the The Forest Within exhibition in New York City 

‘I think like all the mistakes I made were being talked in or out of something,’ she explained. ‘I really want them, even if I don’t agree with it, like, I want them to be really true to their idea of their purpose and their individuality’; seen with her kids and mom Blythe Danner

‘She [Apple] still has another year of college, so, you know, I’m like right, soak it in, and you know, it goes really fast,’ Paltrow added

Paltrow mentioned seeing Apple just this past weekend, adding that her kids ‘are coming home’ now for the summer and she ‘can’t wait’

Gwyneth shares Apple and Moses with ex-husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, 48

Speaking on her Goop podcast, the Oscar-winning actress revealed she struggled to bring Brad into her children’s lives after separating from Chris.

Brad shares his children with film producer Suzanne Bukinik.

‘What seems to happen every time is the dad is in the middle. The kids are having a hard time understanding and adjusting, they don’t want to let go of the family dynamic they had, and the dad is trying to appease both and play both sides.

‘And the woman is like: Hey! Your kids are having a hard time! It’s very easy to take it personally.

‘I think women come in wanting harmony and good intentions, and it’s like the dream that it all is like the Brady Bunch and it blends really well.

‘But the truth is, the only place to act out is against the stepmother – because they don’t want to push the dad away.’

Gwyneth ‘consciously uncoupled’ from Chris in 2014 after ten years of marriage, when Apple was nine and Moses eight.

She started dating film and television producer Brad later that year after they met on the set of TV series Glee, which he produced and in which she had acted.

They tied the knot in 2018 in the Hamptons, – two years after Gwyneth and Chris’ divorce was finalised. Brad has a daughter, Isabella, now 20, and a son, Brody, 18.

Last month Gwyneth opened up about her ‘rough and rocky’ time becoming a stepmother to her husband Brad Falchuk’s kids; the pair seen in 2019

Speaking to Brad a guest on her podcast, Gwyneth claims it was actually his children – rather than her own – who helped her understand what it meant to be a mother.

‘To be maternal… actually, it was your kids who really helped me define this. When I look back, we traversed through some really rough things. The lessons you learn from your stepchildren have been really profound for me,’ she said.

‘One of my most profound lessons that I learned from my relationship with your daughter, which is now so fantastic, is that there was testing going on.’

‘She was testing me all the time to see at what point I would reject her. And at some point, I decided, I just need to be exactly that – the essence of maternal: without opinions, without words, without corrections.’

69’What does it mean to embody the essence of the maternal? I landed on this metaphor of the sun. The sun is incredibly warm and casting off light and sunshine, ray of light, and doesn’t need anything back in order to be it.

‘It just gives off – it just emanates. And that’s what I thought Izzy needed from me. I was just going to be that presence for her, always loving and forgiving.’

‘I was so there for her that she would not question my intentions or think that I was there to take you away from her.’

However, it did not come without its challenges. Gwyneth admitted she unintentionally co-created an unhealthy dynamic with her step-daughter at the beginning of their relationship.

Speaking on her Goop pocast, the Oscar-winning actress also revealed she struggled to bring Brad into her children’s lives after separating from Chris (pictured in 2015) 

‘I fell into this trap a couple of times of being triggered by a child,’ she explained. ‘It hits at something so core and so primal, which I think is probably specific to each person.

‘But to me, it was: am I lovable? Am I accepted too? It’s like my core stuff gets challenged by the child’s behaviour. I think a lot of times, the woman can sort of co-create that dynamic.’

‘It’s interesting because I’ve never had a clear opportunity to ascend to my highest self more than in my role as a stepmother because I think it required a mastery over my own impulses, my own damage, you know, my own weaknesses, my own my ego, all the things.’

‘I had to talk to myself. I had to actively remind myself to be the adult at all times, and there were, like, a few moments that were really, really hard.’