Staying friends with one's ex is rarely an easy task. It seems particularly challenging if you're part of a famous couple. A celebrity can't just unfriend their ex on Facebook and pretend they no longer exist: Tabloids are ready to document and post-split pettiness that happens to unfold. That's why it's so refreshing to see a one-time celebrity couple take the high road when it comes to their divorce.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin may have "consciously uncoupled" in 2014, but that doesn't mean they despise one another. In fact, the actress and Coldplay frontman have quite a positive relationship — so much so that Paltrow expressed her love for her ex-husband for the whole world to see on his birthday.
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On Thursday, Martin's 40th birthday, Paltrow took to Instagram to post a sweet (if poorly cropped) selfie of Martin and the pair's two children, Moses and Apple. The Shallow Hal actress wrote:
"HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY to the best daddy in the world!!! We [heart emoji] you so much!"
Not every former couple can remain in one another's lives in a healthy, happy way, but it's refreshing to see exes speak highly of one another despite a public breakup. Paltrow and Martin don't need the tabloid's narrative of feuding exes — they may not be in one another's lives in a romantic way anymore, but they are still co-parents who care about one another. It wasn't always easy, of course. Paltrow told Marie Claire in 2015 that the two "have worked really fucking hard to get to this point," saying: "[W]e're very, very close, and it's so nice. I feel like it's, in a way, the relationship we were meant to have."
Ironically, Martin wasn't the only special guy whose birthday Paltrow celebrated on Instagram. The actress' boyfriend, Glee and American Horror Story producer Brad Falchuk, just so happens to have a birthday one day before Martin's. (If you believe in astrology, then Paltrow is clearly attracted to Pisces men.) Paltrow posted a rare selfie of her with Falchuk, whom she has reportedly been dating since 2014, writing: "Happy birthday, handsome."
Looks like Paltrow has two special birthdays she'll need to consult the Goop gift guide for.