Anna Faris and Gwyneth Paltrow sure got honest during a chat for the former’s podcast, Anna Faris Is Unqualified. Reflecting on their past relationships, the women talked about how they would deal with arguments with their partners.
Paltrow admitted she used to shut down and “leave the room” during a fight. She says all that changed, however, when she met her now-husband producer Brad Falchuk who demands the couple work out their issues, presently and together.
“We were friends first for a long time and once I was like, ‘Are we going to date? Is this happening?’” she recalled of the early moments in their relationship. “I was scared because he is a person who demands presence and intimacy and communication in a way that I just didn’t know how to [do].”
If Paltrow tried to leave the room after an argument, she says Falchuk would say, “Absolutely not… we’re sitting down and we’re figuring this out.”
“He demands that I am honest with myself in a way that is hard for me,” Paltrow said. “But, really helps me grow.”
Faris agreed. The 44-year-old who has been married to actors Ben Indra and Chris Pratt said competitiveness between herself and her partners led to problems.
“I’m engaged to a man who’s demanded the same thing, which I had never had before,” Faris said. “I had never been confronted with, like, intense eye contact, actually.”
“My two other marriages were with actors, and I don’t think we did a great job of eliminating competitiveness,” she continued. “Or at least I didn’t, being a proud person, and not wanting to reveal vulnerability. Any hint of competitiveness and comparison, I didn’t handle that very well, I don’t think. And I hope I’ve grown from that.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, 48-year-old Paltrow reflected on her marriage to musician Chris Martin.
“I never wanted to get divorced. I never wanted to not be married to the father of my kids, theoretically,” she said. “But I have learned more about myself through that process than I could have imagined. And because I focused on accountability, I was then able to find the most amazing man and build something that I’ve never had before with Brad [Falchuk], my husband.”
Faris and Pratt are parents to an eight-year-old son named Jack. Pratt is now married to Katherine Schwarzenegger and has a daughter with her named Lyla Maria. Faris is engaged to cinematographer Michael Barrett.
Paltrow shares two children with Martin, Apple, 16, and Moses, 14.