Gwyneth Paltrow Used to Eat Ramen, Says Ex Chris Martin Is Like a 'Brother'

Gwyneth Paltrow (Steve Pan/Glamour)

It might be hard to believe that the woman who introduced vaginal steaming and solid gold dumbbells to the world was once a broke college dropout with weird roommates and cupboards full of sodium-addled noodles — but it’s true. In an interview with Glamour, the 43-year-old actress-turned-entrepreneur recounted the hard line her famous father, the late Bruce Paltrow, drew in the sand when she was just a teenager.

“People think, ‘She’s just a rich kid.’ Until I was 18, I was. Then I was broke. I’ve never taken a dime off my parents. I’m completely self-made,’” Paltrow revealed. Asked, specifically, if she’d endured her share of odd living companions and ramen, she didn’t miss a beat. “Of course!” she quipped. (Let’s all just pause and take in that visual for a moment.) “I went to UC Santa Barbara, and when I quit to try to be an actress, my dad was like, 'That’s great, but I’m not gonna help you.’” Like most teens, Paltrow didn’t quite believe her dad would really stick to his word on that one.

“I was like, 'Yeah, right.’ And he was like, 'No, I’m not,’” she recalled. “So I got an apartment with a roommate; I worked as a hostess at a restaurant; I would scrounge quarters to buy Starbucks — and walk there to save gas. I remember once asking my dad for money, like, 'Please, I’m really stuck. Can you help?’ And he said, 'You’re more than welcome to come over for dinner.’ That was it.” Paltrow fondly added, “Those were the days. Enough to know the value of money.” (So give her a rest about the price points of Goop, already, would you?)

But success brought with it its own set of challenges — namely, Paltrow developed a little bit of a 'tude. Fortunately, Dad was there to put her in check. “I remember my dad once sat me down when I was 25 or 26,” she remembered. “I was in the middle of this storm of success, and my dad was like, 'You’re getting weird.’ [Laughs.] I was like, 'Oh my God, I am. Oh, sh-t.’ I mean, I got it. I thought I was so awesome for a minute.”

Gwyneth with her parents, the late Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner, in 2002. (Photo: Getty Images)

One thing she might be awesome at is divorcing, or to be more accurate, conscious uncoupling. “The ideal is to stay married. But if you can’t stay married, wouldn’t the ideal be that you could still be a family and you could put aside your own stuff long enough to explore — what is this new family and who am I in it?” Paltrow explained of her extremely thought-out and carefully managed separation from her former husband, Coldplay musician Chris Martin. Though she was mercilessly mocked at the time of their announcement, Paltrow seems, yet again, to be proving the rest of the world wrong because she and Martin have managed to maintain a positive relationship since the split.

“Chris is a great ex-husband 'cause he’s a very, very willing partner in how to do that,” Paltrow mused. “We’re constantly putting aside our own stuff and trying to reimagine something that we don’t personally have an example for.” She reiterated that the conscious uncoupling wasn’t for them, but for their kids, Apple and Moses. “Number one is a dedication to what’s best for the kids. We put a lot of thought into how to do it so that the damage would be minimized,” she explained. And even though they separated some time ago and have since both been romantically linked to other people, they still “spend a lot of time together,” Paltrow reported.

Gwyneth and Chris Martin, pictured in 2014, are still tight, but in a brother/sister kind of way. (Photo: Getty Images)

“He’s been away for two weeks [promoting his latest album, which, ICYMI, Paltrow sings a bit of backup on]. Last night he got in at midnight and slept here so he could surprise the kids in the morning, we could all have breakfast, and he could take them to school. So … we’re not living together, but he’s more than welcome to be with us whenever he wants. And vice versa: I sleep in his house in Malibu a lot with the kids. We’ll have a weekend all together; holidays, we’re together,“ she revealed. (In other words, they’re together a lot.) "We’re still very much a family, even though we don’t have a romantic relationship. He’s like my brother.”

As for marriage in the future, Paltrow (who’s dating TV producer Brad Falchuk) is rather non-committal, but isn’t axing the idea completely. “I’ve always been very independent. Even in relationships, I’m focused on the quality of my life and not enmeshing myself so much with somebody else’s experience. But I think there’s incredible value in being married,” she confirmed. So, could she see herself walking down the aisle again?

“I don’t know. I guess so. I mean, I believe in marriage. But I’m not even divorced yet! So give me a minute,” she replied with a laugh. Hopefully the man she marries is okay with her brother — we mean her ex-husband — sleeping over every now and then.