Gwyneth Paltrow has described ex-husband Chris Martin as her "brother" after they remained close following their divorce.

Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow

Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow

The former couple - who were married for a decade before splitting in 2014 and finalising their divorce the following year - experienced a "painful" break-up but have managed to stay friends because they wanted to do what they could to make things easy for their daughter Apple, 13, and 11-year-old son Moses.

Appearing on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert', she said: "He's really like my brother, we're very familial.

"It's nice, it's great... Divorce is terrible, it was very painful, it was really hard. We really genuinely wanted our kids to be as unscathed as possible."

And Gwyneth admitted she and the Coldplay frontman were determined to "maintain the family", even when they weren't together anymore so she's happy they achieved their goal.

She added: "We thought if we could really maintain the family even though we weren't a couple that was kind of the goal so that's what we've tried to do."

The former couple have now moved on, with Chris, 40, dating actress Dakota Johnson, 28, and Gwyneth, 45, now engaged to 46-year-old writer and producer Brad Falchuk.

And the 'Iron Man' star admitted she has decided to marry again because she thinks the 'Glee' co-creator is the man she was "meant to be with".

She added: "Personally, at midlife, I have tried to accept how complex romantic love can be.

"I have decided to give it a go again, not only because I believe I have found the man I was meant to be with, but because I have accepted the soul-stretching, pattern-breaking opportunities that (terrifyingly) are made possible by intimacy."