Think back to a time, in February 2014, when the words ‘consciously’ and ‘uncoupled’ had never hung out next to each other before. Hard to remember, right?
Then, a huge split in the shape of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin happened, rebranding divorce as a lifestyle choice, and telling people the best way to do it was through a made-up phrase of these two words.
‘Consciously uncoupling’ was coined by marriage and relationship therapist Katherine Woodyard Thomas, and she’s been doing well out of this ever since – and now there’s a whole self-help book devoted to the new way of announcing a breakup.
Her book Consciously Uncoupling: 5 Steps To Living Happily Ever After ‘outlines and delves into ways a relationship can be completed and used as an opportunity for true healing and empowerment’, which, to be fair, is probably a better option than the tried and tested standard response of ‘sobbing and downing a bottle of wine with your girlfriends in front of an endless stream of romcoms whilst sending texts to your ex full of expletives.'
And, no surprises, Gwyneth is a massive fan of this book and bigged it up in her most recent GOOP newsletter. It said: “We definitely broke the internet when GP referenced this specific, gentler way to break up back in 2014. After the initial WTF?!?, there was a lot of interest in what it actually means, and as GP, her ex, and their children have continued to stay very much a family in spite of the split, there has been a lot of interest in how to actually do it.”
Selling for £13.39, it’s ironically one of the more affordable things her high-brow lifestyle newsletter has recommended, which in the past has suggested £200 t-shirts.
Still, it’s obviously worked wonders for Gwyneth, who’s not only got a hot new boyfriend in the shape of Brad Falchuck but has also stayed mates with crooner Chris.
We just need to master conscious coupling first, then we’ll get back to you on the uncoupling bit…
Words by Laura Martin.