Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Gwyneth Paltrow claims she 'broke the internet' before Kim Kardashian by consciously uncoupling from Chris Martin

Both women managed to get widespread attention for their actions, albeit for very different reasons

Chris Mandle
Thursday 12 November 2015 15:23 GMT
Comments
Gywneth Paltrow made the comments on her lifestyle website GOOP
Gywneth Paltrow made the comments on her lifestyle website GOOP (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Gwyneth Paltrow has made the surprising claim that she “broke the internet” - nine months before Kim Kardashian’s naked cover shoot for Paper magazine.

Paltrow was speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in New York when she explained that her divorce from Chris Martin - and the subsequent birth of the phrase “conscious uncoupling” - actually broke the internet.

“When I was announcing my husband and I were separating and we were trying to follow this specific way of doing it, and the philosophy is ‘conscious uncoupling’ and we like, broke the f****** internet,” she recalls.

She says that as well as having to deal with the breakdown of her marriage she had to contend with negative opinions from the media, who found the term “conscious uncoupling” pretentious.

“It’s such a hard time personally and then you have this added layer of criticism.”

Kardashan-West covered Paper magazine in November 2014, with the tagline “Break The Internet”.

The phrase soon entered popular culture as fans and critics alike weighed on on the nude photo shoot for the cult magazine.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in