Gwyneth Paltrow made a rare comment about her role as a stepmom while posting a heartfelt birthday tribute to her stepdaughter, Isabella “Izzy” Falchuk, who recently turned 21.
“Happy Birthday my snizzle,” the “Iron Man” actress wrote in her Instagram Stories on top of a photo of Isabella smiling broadly.
“You have taught me so much about love,” Paltrow, 52, continued. “I am lucky to be your stepmom.”
The Oscar winner became Isabella and her younger brother Brody’s stepmom when she married their father, Brad Falchuk, in 2018. They joined Paltrow’s kids, Apple, 21, and Moses, 19, whom the Goop founder shares with ex-husband Chris Martin.
Brad, 54, shares his two kids with ex-wife Suzanne Bulnik, whom he divorced in 2013 after 20 years of marriage.
Paltrow opened up about being a stemothother when she had her husband on her Goop podcast in April.
“One of the most profound lessons that I’ve learned from my relationship with your daughter — which is now so fantastic — is there was a testing going on,” she shared.
“She was testing me at the time to see at what point I would reject her,” Paltrow added.
The “Shakespeare in Love” star opted for a non-judgmental approach.
“I was going to be that presence for her, always loving and forgiving in the face of, you know, if she acted up,” she explained, “and show her that ultimately I was so there for her that she would not question my intentions or think that I was there to take you away from her.”
Paltrow confessed to being nervous about disciplining her stepchildren.
“I thought that in my case, if I assert my boundaries or my expectations around manners, or anything like that, it will exacerbate the situation,” she said.
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The businesswoman also admitted to not always getting it right.
“If I look back at my mistakes as a stepmother, I should have just treated them both like my kids way faster, like, I was too worried about everyone’s feelings, in a way,” she shared.
Last week, Paltrow shared a carousel of summer photos, including snaps of her blended family.