Gwyneth Paltrow Opens Up About Her Challenging Journey as a Stepmom: ‘The Path to Here Was Really Rough’

If you’re struggling as a stepparent, Gwyneth Paltrow wants you to know you aren’t alone. She recently opened up about her difficult path to developing a good relationship with her husband Brad Falchuk’s kids, and it’s such an encouraging take.

Things Didn’t Start Easy

At the Visionary Women’s International Day Summit at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the Goop founder asked if there were any stepmoms in the audience, per Page Six. “Yeah, it’s a b*tch, right, guys?” she said. “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,” she shared.

Shine Like the Sun

The Glee creator is dad to two kids, Isabella, 19, and Brody, 17, with ex-wife Suzanne Bukinik. Paltrow became a stepmom to them when she and Falchuk got married in 2018. The Shakespeare in Love star admitted to how challenging it was to build a relationship with the kids.

“The path to here was really rough,” she said. “It’s almost like you have to embody the spirit of the sun and just give and not expect anything back. I just learned to try to just keep shining like the sun and never keeping score.”

That’s actually such a sweet example, and we love how honest she is with everything.

Happily Ever After

In a Nov. 2023 interview with PEOPLE, Paltrow shed some more light onto the challenges of being a stepmom. “It’s hard, and it’s not intuitive, and nobody tells you how to do it. You just stick with it,” she said. “Now it’s one of the things that brings me the most happiness in my life.”

Dakota Johnson’s Feelings on Her Stepkids

Another person who can relate to the stepmom life? Dakota Johnson! The Madame Web actress has been dating Coldplay frontman Chris Martin for six years, who is dad to kids Apple, 19, and Moses, 17, with ex-wife Paltrow. “I love those kids like my life depends on it. With all my heart,” she gushed about her relationship with her stepkids in an interview with Bustle.

It seems like this blended family is doing wonderfully!

Before you go, check out these celebs who are close with their stepkids.