Gwyneth Paltrow - Personal Life

Personal Life

At the age of 24, Paltrow was engaged for six months to actor Brad Pitt, whom she dated from December 1994 to June 1997. The engagement was called off, according to Paltrow, because she was not ready for marriage, and she later felt responsible for hurting Pitt since she was "such a mess" during that time in her life. Paltrow has since said that, as this was her first high-profile relationship with another celebrity, it taught her the need for public discretion about her romantic life; she told Biography magazine, "I said things about being in a relationship that felt wrong to me even as I was saying them."

Paltrow had an on-off three-year relationship with actor Ben Affleck from 1997 to late 2000. Soon after their breakup, Paltrow persuaded Affleck to work in the film Bounce with her; during the making of the film, which was shot in mid 1999, the couple started dating again and eventually broke up in October 2000.

In October 2002, Paltrow met Chris Martin of the British rock group Coldplay backstage three weeks after the death of her father, Bruce Paltrow. They married on December 5, 2003, in a ceremony at a hotel in Southern California. The couple have two children together: Apple Blythe Alison Martin (b. 2004) and Moses Bruce Anthony Martin (b. 2006) Paltrow explained Apple's very unusual first name on Oprah, saying: "It sounded so sweet and it conjured such a lovely picture for me – you know, apples are so sweet and they're wholesome and it's biblical – and I just thought it sounded so lovely and … clean! And I just thought, 'Perfect!'." She explained her son's first name came from the song, titled "Moses", that her husband wrote for her before their wedding. Paltrow's belief of raising her children has been criticised by some journalists. Paltrow stated that she will only allow her children to watch television shows in French or Spanish and that she would never let her watch English cartoons. Paltrow stated that when she goes to Paris she buys their cartoons there.

Paltrow has stated that she cut down on work after becoming a mother. She has also said that she suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of her son, Moses.

Paltrow discovered in 2011 that her father's family came from a long line of influential East European rabbis, and that inspired her to raise her daughter and son in a Jewish environment.