Gwyneth Paltrow and Dakota Johnson are blended family goals, but their dynamic wasn’t always friendly.
A source exclusively reveals in the latest issue of Us Weekly that Paltrow, 51, was initially “hesitant” to embrace Johnson, 34, when she started dating Chris Martin in 2017.
Paltrow was previously married to Martin, 47, from 2003 to 2014 before they “consciously uncoupled.” Following their split, Paltrow and the Coldplay singer remained committed to coparenting daughter Apple, now 19, and son Moses, now 18, as they each moved on. Paltrow married Glee producer Brad Falchuk in 2018 shortly after Martin started seeing Johnson despite a 13-year age gap.
“It’s only natural to feel a certain type of way when you’re ex starts seeing someone else,” a second source tells Us. “So, there was some tension between Gwyneth and Dakota when she and Chris started dating.”
Paltrow was also wary of the age gap but eventually changed her mind after watching Johnson as a stepmother figure to Apple and Moses.
“It took quite some time, but eventually, Gwyneth saw how amazing Dakota treated her kids,” the second insider adds. “Seeing her love them with her whole heart really changed the way Gwyneth felt.”
The first source further notes that Paltrow now treats Johnson as “part of the family,” adding, “They even all hang out as one unite, travel and have big dinners together when they can. It’s a healthy dynamic.”
Paltrow and Johnson have both since been vocal about their friendship. The Madame Web star, for her part, gushed about their blended brood during a Bustle profile last month.
“I love those kids like my life depends on it. With all my heart,” Johnson told the outlet. “I grew up in a family that was so big, and I just believe in the saying ‘Blood is thicker than water.’ The actual saying is ‘The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,’ which means that the connections with people you choose are more solid than the connections to the people you’re actually born to.”
Dakota is the daughter of exes Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, who each have other children with different partners. (Griffith shares son Alexander with ex-husband Steven Bauer and daughter Stella with ex-husband Antonio Banderas. Don, meanwhile, shares son Jesse with ex Patti D’Arbanville and kids Atherton, Jasper and Deacon with wife Kelley Phleger.)
Us confirmed in March that Dakota and Martin got engaged “a while” ago and plan to invite Paltrow, Apple and Moses to their nuptials.
“Dakota and Gwyneth have grown very close over the years and they consider themselves family at this point,” a third source previously told Us that month. “One of the most important things to Chris is how beautifully Dakota fits into the lives of him and his children.”
For more on Paltrow and Johnson’s friendship, pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
