Gwyneth Paltrow recalls that Brad Falchuk’s daughter Izzy is “testing” her

Gwyneth Paltrow has a great relationship with her stepdaughter, Izzy, but she admits that it wasn’t always easy.

On Tuesday, September 9th, she and her husband, Brad Falchuk, spoke about inheritance on an episode of The Goop Podcast in Paltrow. They discussed specifically the roles of mothers and fathers, especially in blended families.

Falchuk, 54, asked Paltrow, 52, to “explain what the archetype of being a mother is.” She replied, “It was your child who really helped me define this myself.”

Paltrow, who tied the knot with Falchuk in 2018, shares her 21-year-old daughter Apple and 19-year-old son Moses with her ex-husband Chris Martin. Falchuk is the father of 21-year-old Izzy and her 18-year-old son Brody, and she shares it with her ex-wife, Suzanne Bukinik.

Paltrow continues, “It’s funny in retrospect… we crossed some really rough, rough things, and I think we should touch on this at some point.

“And one of my deepest lessons I learned from my relationship with your daughter is what’s so great now, I think the tests were being done,” she continued.

The actress replied, “She was always testing me when I rejected her, and at some point I decided that it must be exactly that – I need to be the essence of motherhood.

“And I really landed on this kind of image or the solar phor,” Paltrow continued, insisting that “the sun is incredibly warm, casting light and sunlight, rays of light, and you don’t need anything to do it.”

“It just vents. It’s something I thought I needed from me. I was going to be that presence for her and always be loving and generous if she acted and showed her that I wasn’t questioning my intentions or that I was there to take you from her.

Earlier in the episode, the couple discussed a child who didn’t want to “let go of the family dynamics they had” when their parents started dating again.

Paltrow said, “What happens every time your dad is in the middle?” She said he was “trying to soothe both sides” to keep his new partner and child happy.

“And women are like, ‘Hey, your kids are struggling.’ Personally, is it very easy?

“But the truth is, do you think the only place to take some kind of action is against your stepmother? Because they don’t want to push your dad away,” she said.

Falchuk pointed out that after the divorce, the children may have been used to living with two separate parents. Then dynamic changes.

He said, “You’re a dad, you have two kids. This is working. We’re good. We’ve got a house. We’re happy.” He continued, “Mom of two kids. This is working. We’re great. And now it doesn’t seem like it’s actually something we’re doing anymore.”

“In fact, we’re not your mom, not your dad, but you’re your mom or dad to this family dynamic. And of course, the kids resist it and push it back (it’s either losing something or threatening something.

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The pair’s latest comments on the blend family celebrated her 21st birthday earlier this month after Paltrow sent Izzy a sweet message to her Instagram story.

“Happy birthday,” Paltrow wrote a photo of Izzy wearing sunglasses with a smile. “You taught me a lot about love. I’m lucky to be your stepmother. @izzyfalchuk.”