5 months ago 07th Jun 07:49
"Since my daughter came along, I've not worked much through choice," she revealed when announcing her second pregnancy. "With another baby on its way, I don't think I will be doing a lot for the next year or so either."
After making the brave decision to take time out from work, Gwyneth found caring for her children was not the experience she had hoped for,as she was struck by post-partum depression following the birth of Moses.
"It was a very difficult time," she says. "I just did not know what was wrong with me. I felt very detached, I felt like I was a shell of myself. I just felt like I was going through the motions of the things in my life.
"It was a very weird three to six months. I didn't know what was wrong with me until I started to come out of it, and my mom said to me, 'You don't seem right. What's going on?' And I was defensive because I didn't know what was wrong with me."
Added to Gwyneth's health troubles, the famously-private couple also had to deal with a serious of lurid stories in the press claiming they were on the verge of splitting up.
Gwyneth has always said the stories are "ridiculous" and blames them on the couple's reluctance to be photographed together, saying: "You will never see us out publicly. We just don't want to be one of those couples. It evolved that way. Chris gets furious if I say something about him."
She claims the couple have worked hard at staying close, and always try to make time for each other away from their children.
"I think you have to make an effort to compartmentalize a little bit. When your children are asleep, you have to open another world," she says. "But it's important to carve out some time - otherwise, you don't have an inner life. You just give all day, and then you pass out at night."
Despite having a back catalogue of hugely successful films and a more than happy home life, Gwyneth admits she felt nervous when she decided to start making films again.
"I really did not know if there would be a place for me any more," she admits, adding that kick-starting a Hollywood career after a break is extremely hard, "especially if you are a woman and especially if you are not 25.
"Hollywood is pretty cut-throat and everybody's got a short memory," she added. "There's always somebody younger or hotter or, you know, prettier or whatever. And I was very realistic about the fact that there might not be any more room for me. I definitely knew I had lost my place that I had when I left."
It seems Hollywood's memory was easily able to recall Gwyneth's talent - she quickly won a part in one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, 'Iron Man'.
To complete her successful Hollywood return, the star also landed a role in the low-key film 'Two Lovers' which premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival in France. It is this role she credits with reigniting her thespian fires.
"It gave to me kind of a lifeline," she says, "I feel like I was really able to be very free and raw and true. Going from being a mother at home for a long time, which is the greatest joy of my life, to feel like an artist again - that was a gift."
After two years away from the limelight, Gwyneth knew she had to come back with a bang. And what better way could there be to re-launch her public profile than by revealing a brand new, sex-bomb persona at the premiere of her first film in years?
Gwyneth revealed her stunning makeover by stepping out in lace mini-dresses and six-inch platform stilettos while promoting 'Iron Man', but it was her svelte figure and brand new haircut which really grabbed the world's attention.
"I was very, very attached to my hair," she says. "I grew it when I was pregnant. I made it like a talisman. And then I was ready to let go of it, and so I chopped it off."
While losing her hair was easy, Gwyneth admits losing the weight she put on during pregnancy was much tougher.
"I put on 40lbs with Moses. And I found it really hard to loose the last 20lbs," Gwyneth says. "I didn't mind having the big boobs. But it was the stomach roll, the back fat, and the post-pregnant butt. And it was so hard to get rid of."
The actress managed to regain her pre-pregnancy figure by eating "organic, seasonal food that isn't processed" and working out in the gym.
Pregnancy may have left Gwyneth battling the bulge, but the star admits it had other surprising plus points.
"I was macrobiotic for about three or four years, but when I got pregnant with Apple I wanted French fries, grilled cheese, and yoghurt, so it kind of went out the window," she explains. "I couldn't look at brown rice. It made me throw up. I eat fish, I love cheese. We'll make chocolate chip cookies and eat them. I have coffee and wine. I've got lots of lovely vices."
Gwyneth's decision to loosen up her diet has helped her ditch her prim and proper image of old, and since revealing her stunning new look at the 'Iron Man' premiere she has often been spotted on nights out with her close friend Madonna. The pair celebrated recently when Madonna's adoption of two-year-old Malawian David Banda was finalised by dining at fashionable London restaurant Nobu.
"I have other friends I've had longer and I have other friends that I see more," Gwyneth explains. "But through thick and thin she's a constant in my life. It's like we have some kind of karmic thing. She's a great woman. She's taught me a lot."
Gwyneth has even admitted she and her husband are thinking of adopting a child like her famous pal, saying: "I do feel we're so fortunate, and we kind of owe it to humanity. We have a lot of love to give and a lot of resources."
This may seem an unusual choice for a woman who has just cemented her place back among Hollywood royalty, but the star insists she is contemplating having more children, and doesn't plan to make any more films for a while.
"I may force myself to get pregnant one more time because the result is so worth it," she says. "Also my late dad Bruce said to me that his only regret in life was that he had only two children and he didn't have more.
"I'm not doing another film until next autumn. Everything is about family, I'm putting movies on a backburner."
Does this mean Gwyneth could be heading back to retirement? If her latest re-vamp is anything to go by she's bound to be strap on her platforms and stride back onto a film set in the not too distant future, and Hollywood is sure to welcome her back with open arms.
by Hannah Ferrett
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