'CHRIS AND I WERE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER'

Gwyneth Paltrow has weathered every storm thrown her way and now she's looking happier than ever in a striking new photoshoot

- SERENA LACEY-BROWN

They were ridiculed for saying they were “consciously uncoupling”, but Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin have had the last laugh — the former spouses are friendlier, happier and more successful than ever.

And Gwyneth’s joy is clear to see in a stunning new photoshoot for US magazine Bustle, which coincides with the launch of her new lowerpriced beauty line, good.clean.goop.

It’s been nearly 20 years since Hollywood star Gwyneth, 51, and music royalty Chris, 46, surprised the world by getting married in Santa Barbara, California, after less than a year of dating. The ceremony was so low-key, it’s believed that even their parents only found out about the wedding after it had taken place.

The shock nuptials came just days after it was announced that Gwyneth was pregnant (with daughter Apple, now 19). The couple met backstage at a Coldplay concert a year previously but it was obvious from the start that their relationship was a whirlwind.

Chris once described it as like winning the lottery. He said, “From being a loser to going out with an Oscar winner? It’s a giant leap.”

Two years after the arrival of Apple, Gwyneth and Chris welcomed son Moses, now 17. Despite being one of Hollywood’s power couples, the notoriously private pair managed to keep most of their family life away from the glare of the public eye.

“It doesn’t behove us to be a public couple,” said Gwyneth in 2009. “We’ve never, ever walked down a red carpet together, and we never will.”