Gwyneth Paltrow is still getting used to life as an empty nester.
On Tuesday, the Goop founder revealed that she is dealing with mixed emotions now that her 20-year-old daughter Apple and 18-year-old son Moses have left for college.
“It’s totally different,” the Marvel star shared in a video on his Instagram Story. “There is a wave of sadness and sorrow.”
Despite the emotional roller coaster, Paltrow is embracing her new normal.
“I’m slowly coming into contact with a part of myself that I haven’t felt since my 20s, before I had children,” she said.
The actress said that having “a little more space” has allowed her to explore her “imagination.”
“It’s like, let’s create a little more inner space for what we want to do that day,” she explained. “So it’s evolving. It’s interesting.”
Paltrow echoed similar sentiments in a March 2024 interview with The Sunday Times, but admitted it was for the best.
“Your children should be young adults who are able to achieve, cope, connect, and be resilient,” she shared. “That’s exactly what you want. And it means they leave the house.”
The actress said that motherhood “defines” and “fulfills” her and has served as her “guiding force” over the years.
“I see a lot of my friends whose kids went to college,” she explained. “Your kids… change. And, you know, they come home a lot, but it’s not quite the same as living under the same roof all year round. So I don’t know what that means. I’m just trying to be open about what I’m going to do.”
Apple is a junior at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2022, Paltrow compared her daughter’s move to “giving birth” and called the experience “horrifying.”
“It was really scary,” Paltrow told People magazine at the time. “I felt sick to my stomach and tears were streaming down my face.”
Meanwhile, Moses graduated from high school in May and began classes at Brown University in Rhode Island this fall.
The Oscar winner has two children with ex-husband Chris Martin.
Paltrow married Brad Falchuk two years after splitting from the Coldplay frontman.
Like Paltrow, the “Glee” co-creator also has two children. Daughter Isabella will attend Cornell University in 2022, and son Brody will begin his college career at Yale University this fall.
With all of her children out of the house, Ms. Paltrow put her Los Angeles mansion on the market in June for nearly $30 million.
Listing agent Lee Porter told the Wall Street Journal that the “Iron Man” actress is considering downsizing and no longer needs the 8,000-square-foot home.
Paltrow bought the eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom mansion, which was built in 1950, in 2012 for $9.95 million.
The “Shakespeare in Love” star also has homes in Montecito, California, and Amagansett, New York.
