Gwyneth Paltrow Reveals Steps She Took Before Chris Martin Divorce to Protect Their Kids from 'Trauma'

"We didn't want them to ever feel in the middle, or that one of us was slagging off the other one," Paltrow says of her divorce

Gwyneth Paltrow is opening up about how she prepared her kids to handle her divorce from Chris Martin.

In an interview with Bustle, the Goop founder, 51, revealed that she complied a "data collection" of other people whose parents had gone through divorces to determine how she wanted to navigate her own divorce from the Coldplay singer, 46.

"My kids are great. They're grounded and grateful and funny," Paltrow says of her two kids with Martin, daughter Apple, 19, and son Moses, 17. "But [Chris Martin] and I both really did not want to have them experience the divorce as a trauma."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Related: Gwyneth Paltrow Shares the Different Traits Son Moses and Daughter Apple Inherited from Her

"We knew it would be hard, of course, but we didn't want them to ever feel in the middle, or that one of us was slagging off the other one. At that time, I did a very me thing, which was when I knew I wanted to get a divorce, I did this data collection of talking to adults who had been products of a broken home."

"Every single one of them said, 'I didn't care that my parents got divorced. That wasn't it. But the fact that they wouldn't speak to each other, that they couldn't both sit at a dinner table for my birthday...' They said that was the most awful thing," Paltrow recalls.

"You could see they held it with so much hurt and anger. I was like, 'That's what I'm never going to do.' And we really didn't."

Earlier this month, the actress participated in an installment of Vogue‘s 73 Questions series, sharing some tidbits about motherhood with fans.

When asked what the biggest surprise about being a mom is, Paltrow replied, "How much love there is in this thing," gesturing to her heart.

Later, she was asked about what traits her kids get from her. "I think Moses got his deliberation from me and Apple, her sense of humor," she answered.

In an Instagram Q&A in August, Paltrow opened up about being a stepmom to husband Brad Falchuk's two kids — son Brody, 17, and daughter Isabella, 19 — admitting "I did find it really hard at first."

"You know, there’s no book on this; nobody tells us what to do. And in fact, all of the existing media around what a stepmother is casts us in this evil, villainous light," she continued, "So it’s kind of like trying to avoid land mines. And then you’re going into a family with dynamics. And there’s all kinds of fear around loss and what does this person mean?"

Paltrow added, "But for myself, the minute I decided, and fully embodied the idea that my step kids were my kids and I love them just as much and I gave them the same rules and boundaries, and just kind of whole-heartedly went for it, then the easier the whole thing got. And now it’s pretty great."

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.