Gwyneth Paltrow thinks having children can make or break a marriage.
The actress, 50, sat down with Katy Perry during the latest episode of her “Goop” podcast to talk all things relationships — and how much they change when kids enter the picture.
“It’s hard on a relationship. Like I’ve looked back now on like the data set of parents with young kids and it just … ruins the relationship,” Paltrow said with a laugh. “It’s really hard!”
While Perry agreed that dynamics shift after having kids, she argued that as long as couples are on the same page, they can make it through those difficult years.
“I think if both people in the relationship are willing to do the work then it’s going to be so much easier,” the “Teenage Dream” singer said.
“But if one person thinks they don’t have any work to do then it’s going to be really challenging.”
Paltrow and her ex-husband, Chris Martin, have two teenagers — daughter Apple, 18, and son Moses, 16. She and now-husband Brad Falchuk, 51, also co-parent two kids from his previous marriage — Isabella, 18, and Brody, 16.
Despite the challenges of being a mom, the two women agreed that it has been one of the most rewarding parts of their lives.
“I never felt lonely again after I had her [Apple] … and I had felt profoundly lonely in my life,” Paltrow revealed.
Perry — who shares daughter Daisy, 2, with Orlando Bloom — dittoed these feelings, saying she “felt really lost” and like everything she did “wasn’t enough” until she experienced the unconditional love of a child.
Now that Paltrow is nearly an empty nester, the actress is able to look back and reflect on some of her biggest “regrets” as a stepmom.
“If someone asked me for advice on it, I would just say from day one, just really treat them as your kid,” Paltrow told Falchuk on a previous podcast episode. “I just wish I had done that earlier.”
The Emmy winner went on to say she came into the role with “trepidation” and was afraid to “love” or “discipline” Falchuk’s teens.
However, the “Glee” co-creator applauded his wife for bonding with his kids “outside of” him and creating a space where they feel comfortable going to her for “advice.”
The twosome wed in September 2018, just two years after her divorce from Martin was finalized.
