Gwyneth Paltrow has said she feels “impending grief” as her children leave home as adults.
The Oscar-winning actress has a daughter, Apple, 19, and son, Moses, 17, with her former husband Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.
Paltrow then married TV producer and screenwriter Brad Falchuk, who she worked with on the American musical show Glee and Netflix drama The Politician.
When asked by the Sunday Times how she feels about her stepson Brody Falchuk and son Moses going to university, Paltrow said: “On the one hand, incredible sadness. A deep sense of impending grief.
“On the other hand, this is exactly what should be happening. Your kids are supposed to be young adults who can achieve and cope and make connections and be resilient. That’s exactly what you want. And that means they leave the house.”
The US actress, 51, also said that she has been “so defined and so fulfilled by motherhood” that it has become “central” to her life.
Paltrow, who also runs the lifestyle brand Goop, added: “I don’t know even how to articulate it. It’s like the guiding force. It’s what I return to. I observe a lot of my friends who’ve had kids who’ve gone off to college.
“Your kid… it changes and, you know, they come home a lot and all that stuff, but it’s not quite the same as living under the same roof all the days of the year. So I’m just trying to be open to what that means.”
Her daughter Apple has previously left home for college.
Paltrow wed British musician Martin in 2003, and they announced in March 2014 their “conscious uncoupling”.
The former couple, who have remained close since the split, used the phrase in a statement to announce their divorce, which was later finalised in 2016.
Paltrow reportedly met Falchuk on the set of Glee and they married in 2018.