Internet reacts to Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow's split
Social media deluged with jokes about the 'conscious uncoupling', but some publications express compassion
COLDPLAY front man Chris Martin and actress Gwyneth Paltrow have announced they will separate after ten years of marriage.
In a post on Paltrow's lifestyle website Goop, the couple announced their decision under the headline: "Conscious uncoupling". The post said that the decision to separate had been reached with "hearts full of sadness" and asked that their privacy be respected during "this difficult time".
The post said: "We have been working hard for well over a year, some of it together, some of it separated, to see what might have been possible between us, and we have come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much we will remain separate."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It continued: "We are, however, and always will be a family, and in many ways we are closer than we have ever been. We are parents first and foremost, to two incredibly wonderful children and we ask for their and our space and privacy to be respected at this difficult time. We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and coparent, we will be able to continue in the same manner."
The Daily Mail speculated that the couple would try to "keep things as normal as possible" for the sake of their children, Apple and Moses, "which means they will surely continue to move in the same circles and maintain mutual friends – preventing a potentially messy argument over who gets to keep Beyonce and Jay Z."
Meanwhile many people took to social media to make jokes: "Rumour has it that Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's split was caused by their son Moses" @JillBidenVeep tweeted. Another twitter user @Brentweets wrote "Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin are getting a divorce... Wasn't Apple's life hard enough already?"
Alyssa Rosenberg, writing for the Washington Post says that jokes on social media were a reaction to Paltrow's seeming "smugness" about the "perfect life" she depicts on her Goop website: "The tide of Gwynethfreude that is breaking over the internet is particularly tsunami-like because, since founding her newsletter Goop in 2008, part of Paltrow's business has been telling other women how to live glamorous and complete lives."
But, Rosenberg concludes, many may ultimately feel some melancholy over the break-up, because it reflects uncertainly in all our relationships. "If talented, seemingly pleasant people can see their marriages fail, then maybe none of us know any secrets. And maybe none of us can have it all," she writes.
In a rare moment of compassion, Vice published an article titled "For once we shouldn't laugh at Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin".
The publication says that even though the phrase "conscious uncoupling" is "pretty funny" there is a sadness about any break-up, and that Paltrow and Martin are just "two very famous people who had two very human children, and are trying very hard to find a way to still be a family; to let the crack down the middle of them feel like more of a seam".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Women are getting their own baseball league again
In the Spotlight The league is on track to debut in 2026
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Giant TVs are becoming the next big retail commodity
Under the Radar Some manufacturers are introducing TVs over 8 feet long
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
When will mortgage rates finally start coming down?
The Explainer Much to potential homebuyers' chagrin, mortgage rates are still elevated
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Goop: The most unusual lifestyle tips from Gwyneth Paltrow's blog
In Depth Some of the highlights from the lifestyle website set to become a glossy Conde Nast magazine
By The Week Staff Published
-
Jay Z, Beyonce and a very public kick at the crown jewels
In Depth At least Jay Z did not fight back – that should go down well with his friends in the White House
By Charles Laurence Published
-
Adele and Beyonce to sing at Michelle Obama's 'huge' party
Speed Read Two of the world's biggest female stars agree to sing at 'celebrity-packed' celebration of First Lady's 50th
By The Week Staff Published