Gwyneth Paltrow Says She Feels 'Incredible Sadness' as Son Moses Leaves Soon for College: 'Not Quite the Same'

In an interview with 'The Sunday Times,' the Goop founder shared her feelings about becoming an empty nester

Gwyneth Paltrow is getting candid about her thoughts on becoming an empty nester.

On Sunday, the Goop founder and actress, 51, spoke with The Sunday Times, where she shared her feelings about son Moses, 17, leaving for college in the fall. Paltrow shares both Moses and daughter Apple, 19, with ex Chris Martin.

"In the fall, Brad [Falchuk] and I have boys that will be going off to university," Paltrow says of her son Moses and her husband's son Brody. "It'll be interesting to see how the morning routine changes with no kids in the house."

"On the one hand, incredible sadness. A deep sense of impending grief," the actress says of how she feels about the kids leaving. "On the other hand, this is exactly what should be happening."

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Related: Gwyneth Paltrow Reveals Her Kids' Vastly Different Approaches to College — and Which One Was 'Happy Wherever'

"Your kids are supposed to be, you know, 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."

Paltrow adds that she's "been so defined and so fulfilled by motherhood."

"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."

In an October interview with Bustle, Paltrow shared how her two kids dealt with the college admission process, highlighting the differences in their approaches.

"Apple was very clear on where she wanted to go, and did everything in her power to make it happen and manifested it," the proud mom said.

"Moses is like, 'I don't know, I like this and I like that, and let's go back and see this, let's go back and see that one.' He's more relaxed about it. He's kind of like 'I'll be happy wherever; it's fine,' which is a great feeling."

"And it generally seems to work out," Paltrow said of the experience. "What I've observed is that sometimes you're like, 'Oh, no, this person didn't get into there, and it seemed like such a great fit.'"

"But in the end, the college knows what they're doing, and they end up, I think, taking the kids that are going to really thrive. I think they have it down to a science," she said.

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