Gwyneth Paltrow 'Wives Should Stay At Home To Maintain Their Marriages'
Gwyneth Paltrow has sparked debate after expressing her personal views on marriage and family life, and while some critics have called her out of touch others have hailed her traditional values.
The 39-year-old renowned Hollywood actress highlighted the importance of being a wife in a recent interview with Harper's Bazaar magazine, suggesting that it is wise for women to take precedence over their family and their husband's career before their own.
"I have little kids in school. I want to maintain my marriage and my family, so I have to be here when [my husband] comes home," Paltrow told Harper's Bazaar adding, "this may not be feminist, but you have to compromise."
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Paltrow, who is married with two children, reflected on a time when she gave marriage advice to another renowned Hollywood actress whose husband is said to be equally as famous, and she acknowledged that her views would be subject to feminist's critique.
"If you want what you're saying you want-a family-you have to be a wife, and that is part of the equation. Gloria Steinem may string me up by my toes, but all I can do is my best, and I can do only what works for me and my family."
Carol Evans, the president of Working Mother Media, which publishes Working Mother magazine, criticized Paltrow's comments and suggested that her views are unrealistic for modern women.
"This is going to make a lot of people feel, at best, inadequate and, at worst, angry (because) the average person really has no chance to live the lifestyle that Gwyneth has," Evans told ABC News.
Lifetime Moms blogger Melissa Chapman praised Paltrow's opinion, arguing that her advice is realistic and practical for women.
"I don't think you can both be the alpha at the top of your game and not have your marriage suffer. There's got to be one primary parent there who knows my job is to handle the homestead and be the rock for my spouse," Chapman said.
"Right now, (Paltrow's) going to be the good wife and good mom and (Martin's) going to have his time in the limelight. Maybe in a couple of years, the roles will reverse," she added.
Paltrow, who once dated actors Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck, has been married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin for almost nine years.
The pair have two children, a 5-year-old son Moses and 7-year-old daughter Apple and although their marriage appears to remain solid Paltrow also spoke about her previous experience with betrayal.
"I had a boyfriend who used to cheat on me all the time. I was quite naive. I knew on a cellular level, but I bought his story," Paltrow said.
The actress, who is also a successful singer and author, went on to share her thoughts on what it takes to maintain a successful marriage crediting advice from her late father, Bruce Paltrow.
"My parents were married for 30-something years, and he said [it was] because they never wanted to get divorced at the same time," Paltrow said.
"I think you do fall in and out of love and you just keep going, and every time you go through a really difficult phase, you rediscover something new and it just gets better. We've been married for more than eight years now, and we're still into it," she added.
