Gwyneth Paltrow has said that her career was affected after she and Coldplay singer Chris Martin announced their divorce using the phrase “conscious uncoupling.”
The couple shared the news in 2014, and the wording quickly became a pop culture joke. While Paltrow later said she understood why people found the phrase strange, she still believed it was meant to describe a healthier way of ending a marriage.
In a recent interview on Amy Poehler’s podcast, Paltrow revealed that the backlash had real consequences. She explained that she was attached to a movie shortly after the divorce announcement, but the project fell apart. According to her, negative media attention made the distributor nervous, and she was dropped from the film during an already difficult personal time.
You know, I was supposed to do a movie at one point, and it was right after the kind of ‘conscious uncoupling’ thing with Chris. And there was a lot of harsh stuff in the press, and I think the distributor was like, ‘This might be too hot to touch’,” she added. “So that was great, because I was getting a divorce and then I got fired, which was awesome.”
Paltrow said the idea of “conscious uncoupling” helped her cope with the divorce because it offered a more thoughtful way to move forward. She believes some people reacted strongly because the phrase made them reflect on their own painful experiences with divorce, which felt personal and uncomfortable.
She later admitted she was deeply hurt by both the divorce and the public reaction. Despite that period, Paltrow has continued working steadily. She is currently starring in the film Marty Supreme alongside Timothée Chalamet, which has received strong reviews.
