Gwyneth Paltrow has opened up about her experience of being a stepmom to her husband Brad Falchuk's children.
In a conversation with former U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas Nicole Avant as part of the Visionary Women's International Women’s Day Summit, Paltrow brought up the topic because, like her, Avant is also stepmom to two kids.
Addressing the audience, the actress joked, "It's a bitch, right, guys?" (via People).
She went on, "No, I actually—I really like to talk about this because it's one of my biggest learnings as a human being. And my area of growth personally came from the initial difficult relationship I had with my step-kids, and now they're like my kids."
Futher elaborating on how difficult it was for her to figure out what her role in your step-children's life was, Paltrow said, "it's almost like you have to embody the spirit of the sun and just give and not expect anything back."
She added, "I just learned to try to just keep shining like the sun and never keeping score."
Paltrow is step-mom to Falchuk's kids Isabella, 19, and Brody, 17, whom he shares with ex Suzanne Bukinik. As for the Goop founder, she shares children Apple, 19, and Moses, 17, with ex Chris Martin.
It's not the first time Paltrow has opened up about her experience of being a stepmom.
"You know, there’s no book on this; nobody tells us what to do," she said during an Instagram Q&A in August (via People).
She continued, "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?"
At the time, she made it clear that she wouldn't change her relationship to Isabella and Brody as it has evolved. "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," she said. "And now it’s pretty great." :)
