Gwyneth Paltrow Opens Up About Her Friendship with Meghan Markle—and I Get It

Gwyneth Paltrow is doubling down on her support of her friend Meghan Markle in recent comments, and it's the latest installment in an Internet drama that had fans detecting friction between the two celebrated women founders. My takeaway? Even though these women are world traveling stars of stage and screen who devote their time to business, philanthropy and family—really high-pressure lives—Paltrow's insight into her friendship with Markle is relatable to a lot of us.

While attending a wellness conference in Los Angeles on Saturday, May 17, Paltrow told People that she and Meghan have "not yet" spent much time together in person. "We have a text friendship so far," Paltrow said. "I've been traveling quite a bit."

It's true—Paltrow has been out-and-about this year with public appearances for Goop, her lifestyle brand, and granting interviews ahead of her Christmas movie release Marty Supreme, in which she has sexy scenes with fashion iconoclast Timothée Chalamet.

And Meghan, too, has been busy—from cutting a sharp silhouette during a public appearance with her husband in New York to bowing her new lifestyle series in which she introduces viewers and famous friends to the flowers, food and fun of her good vibes Cali lifestyle.

Both Meghan and Gwyneth live in Montecito, the lush central California coast town where bigwigs like Oprah reside. So after recent rumors that there was tension between the senior lifestyle brand founder (Paltrow's brand Goop, launched in 2008, is estimated to be worth $250 million) and the junior royal (Meghan's brand As Ever was launched this year), Montecito was the place the two squashed the suggestion of bad blood by releasing a playful video of the two there together. As a woman who counts herself lucky if I see my besties once every few months, I totally say hats off to these women taking the time to make a quick vid to support their own nascent pal status.

At Saturday's wellness conference, the Oscar winner was further having none of the rumors. "I don't like that, when people try to pit women against each other," she said. That tracks: Paltrow was quoted as saying “I was raised to see other women as friends, not foes,” in the March Vanity Fair. “I think there’s always more than enough to go around. Everybody deserves an attempt at everything that they want to try.”

Further, this past Saturday, when asked about her thoughts on appearing on season 2 of Meghan's Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, Paltrow quipped: "Sure! Why not? You never know. I don't bake that well, but I can always try."

Frankly, I'd totally tune in to watch these two cross streams of star power over a homemade pie crust—fingers crossed!

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