Gwyneth Paltrow feels ‘waves of grief’ after daughter Apple and son Moses start college

Gwyneth Paltrow is still getting used to life as an empty nester.

The Goop founder said Tuesday she’s experiencing mixed emotions now that her 20-year-old daughter Apple and 18-year-old son Moses are leaving for college.

“This is completely different,” the Marvel star shared in a video on her Instagram Story. “I have waves of grief and sadness.”

Despite the rollercoaster of emotions, Paltrow has embraced her new normal.

“I’m kind of getting back in touch with a part of myself that I haven’t felt since I was 20 before I had kids,” she shared.

The actress said having “a little more space” allowed her to unleash her “imagination.”

“A little more interior space for what I might want to do that day and things like that,” she explained. “So it’s evolving. This is interesting”.

Paltrow shared similar sentiments during an interview with the Sunday Times in March 2024, but admitted it was for the best.

“Your children should be young adults who can succeed, cope, make connections and be resilient,” she shared. “This is exactly what you want. And that means they are leaving home.”

The actress said motherhood has both “defined” and “fulfilled” her, serving as her “guiding force” over the years.

“I watch a lot of my friends who have kids who are away at college,” she explained. “Your child… he is changing. And, you know, they come home often and all that, but it’s not quite the same as living under the same roof all days of the year. So I’m just trying to be open to what that means.”

Apple is a third-year student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2022, Paltrow compared her daughter’s move to “giving birth,” calling the experience “horrible.”

“It was really terrible,” Paltrow told People magazine at the time. “My stomach hurt and I started crying.”

Meanwhile, Moses graduated from high school in May and began classes at Brown University in Rhode Island this fall.

The Oscar winner has two children with ex-husband Chris Martin.

Paltrow married Brad Falchuk two years after splitting from the Coldplay frontman.

Like Paltrow, the “Glee” co-creator has two children. His daughter Isabella will begin college at Cornell in 2022, and his son Brody will begin his undergraduate career at Yale this fall.

With all the children out of the house, Paltrow put her Los Angeles mansion on the market in June for nearly $30 million.

Listing agent Leah Porter told the Wall Street Journal that the “Iron Man” actress wanted to downsize and no longer needed the 8,000-square-foot home.

Paltrow purchased the eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom mansion, built in 1950, for $9.95 million in 2012.

The Shakespeare in Love star also has homes in Montecito, California, and Amagansett, New York.