Gwyneth Paltrow decided to “consciously uncouple” from her friendship with Madonna, a new book alleges. In excerpts shared from Amy Odell’s Gwyneth: The Biography, the author claims that the Goop mogul and musician’s friendship hit a “breaking point” following an awkward vacation run-in.
“Their relationship reached a breaking point when Madonna showed up to an island where Gwyneth and [Chris] Martin were vacationing,” the excerpt reads, per People. “Madonna seemed to know that Gwyneth would be there, which Gwyneth seemed to find strange, a friend remembered.”
Odell goes on to write that the friendship allegedly fizzled out after Paltrow witnessed the “Material Girl” singer berate her eldest daughter, Lourdes. “Madonna then insisted Gwyneth and Martin join her for a big group dinner at a long table where Madonna went off on her daughter, Lourdes. Gwyneth and Martin were disgusted by the behavior.”
According to Odell, Martin—Paltrow’s husband from 2003 to 2016—said, “‘I can’t be around this woman anymore. She’s awful.’” The author concludes, “Gwyneth agreed that Madonna was toxic and ended the friendship.” She writes that the incident occurred “a few years” after Paltrow gave birth to her son Moses in 2006.
Paltrow, 52, and Madonna, 66, became fast friends in the 1990s—they often vacationed and attended Kabbalah classes together. At the time, they were both living in the UK with British husbands—Madonna was married to director Guy Ritchie, while Paltrow was with Martin. In 2006, Paltrow praised the singer saying, “Everything I have gone through, she went through ten times worse and ten times longer.”
The pair have never directly addressed the feud. However, in a 2010 interview with British Vogue, Paltrow referenced her joy that Madonna had stopped working with their then-personal trainer, Tracy Anderson. “Yeah, it’s good that [Tracy] doesn’t train Madonna any more. It was too much,” she told the outlet. “She keeps people waiting—it takes up your whole day.” The actor and entrepreneur added, “Oh yes, I can be mean. I can cave in to gossip. I can ice people out and I definitely harbor revenge.”
