Gwyneth Paltrow shares the secret that made her blended family with Brad Falchuk work

Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk are opening up about the moment they realized their blended family had truly come together—and how a simple weekly ritual helped make it happen.

In the April 8 episode of The goop Podcast, the couple reflected on the early challenges of merging their two families after getting married in 2018. 

Paltrow, 52, shares Apple, 20, and Moses, 19, with ex-husband Chris Martin, while Falchuk, 54, shares Isabella, 19, and Brody, 18, with his ex-wife Suzanne Bukinik.

The key to building trust and connection between the kids as been their weekly Wednesday night dinners.

“We made sure that the six of us had dinner together every Wednesday night,” Gwyneth said. “Through good times and bad, sunshine and rain. Every one of the four kids knew that it was sacred, and we said no to everything else.”

Those dinners—consistent, non-negotiable, and full of intention—laid the foundation for a family bond that, at the time, felt uncertain.

Brad recalled one particular dinner before the kids started heading off to college. “I don’t think the kids said two words to us,” he laughed. “They were so busy yapping with each other and having such a good time. And we were just sitting there looking at them, like, ‘Oh my gosh. It worked.’”

“We would never have believed it was going to work early on,” Brad admitted. “But with that consistency, and with belief in what the truth was, it worked for us.”

Gwyneth agreed—and got candid about her own missteps in the beginning. “I made a ton of mistakes as a stepmother,” she said. “Looking back, if I could, I think I would've done things differently.”

“It started to just feel really light and cohesive,” Gwyneth shared. “It’s such a particular kind of delight to see our four kids in their own relationships, being friends and loving each other.”

“Now, when we're all together having dinner, there’s this history there,” Gwyneth said. “You can feel it.”

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