Gwyneth Paltrow has never shied away from speaking her truth, and now the actress-turned-wellness mogul is getting candid about one of the most challenging periods of her life—menopause.
The Oscar-winning star, 52, has revealed that she found herself leaning on alcohol as she battled worsening symptoms while dealing with the devastating Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year.
During a heartfelt conversation on her Goop podcast, Gwyneth admitted that the emotional toll of the January wildfires, combined with the unpredictable changes of menopause, led her to reach for a nightly drink—something she has rarely done in recent years.
“I’m really in the thick of it right now, so I’m all over the place,” she confessed. “But I noticed my symptoms are pretty well under control—unless, you know, in January when the fires were happening in L.A. I, like, used alcohol for its purpose.”
Gwyneth, who has been at the forefront of the wellness industry for decades, admitted that menopause has thrown her body into unfamiliar territory, particularly when it comes to her sleep.
© Getty Images“I’ve always been a real sleeper,” she shared, explaining that she never had trouble resting until menopause hit. “I went through a particularly bad time with it. There were nights where my anxiety was just crushing. I would wake up and start thinking about every mistake I’ve ever made, every person’s feelings I ever hurt, every bad decision I’ve ever made. I’d be up for six hours. It was crazy.”
The mother-of-two, who shares daughter Apple, 19, and son Moses, 17, with ex-husband Chris Martin, admitted that she was shocked by the level of anxiety she experienced.
© Instagram“I’ve never had anxiety in my life,” she revealed. “And suddenly, I was lying in bed feeling completely overwhelmed. It’s a feeling I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Hopefully, I’m coming out the other side.”
Gwyneth was joined on the podcast by Dr. Mary Claire Haver, a specialist in women’s health and menopause, who reassured her that what she was experiencing was completely normal.
© Instagram“In perimenopause, we call it the zone of hormonal chaos,” Dr. Haver explained. “It’s all over the place. It is completely unpredictable, and our brains hate chaos.”
The actress, who has built an empire around health and self-care, admitted that she found herself emotionally spiraling in January when wildfires broke out across Southern California, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate.
“I think I drank every night,” she admitted. “I was medicating.”
For someone who preaches a clean lifestyle and has been vocal about limiting her alcohol intake in recent years, this revelation was a rare moment of vulnerability.
“Normally, now at this point, I don’t drink a lot at all. Maybe I’ll have one drink a week,” she said. “But my symptoms were completely out of control. It was the first time I really noticed, like, causation in that way.”
Gwyneth has been candid about her health journey before, often using her platform to educate women on the challenges of midlife and aging. While she has embraced the process, describing getting older as ‘liberating,’ she has also been open about its difficulties—particularly when it comes to menopause.
Last year, she revealed that she had been experimenting with different approaches to ease her symptoms, including diet, acupuncture, and even hormone therapy. However, as she now acknowledges, even the most well-prepared women can be blindsided by the physical and emotional toll of the transition.
“You think you’re doing everything right, and then one thing happens, and it just knocks you off your feet,” she said.
Despite the struggles, Gwyneth remains optimistic. She noted that since getting back into her usual routine—prioritizing movement, cutting back on alcohol, and focusing on her mental health—she has started to feel more like herself again.
“I feel like hopefully I’m coming out the other side,” she said with a sigh of relief.As always, Gwyneth’s honesty has struck a chord with her fans, many of whom have taken to social media to praise her for speaking so openly about menopause.
“She’s literally the only celebrity talking about this in such a real way,” one follower wrote.
Gwyneth, who recently paid a heartfelt tribute to Chris for his 48th birthday, has often spoken about the importance of embracing change rather than fearing it. While she admits menopause has been more challenging than she expected, she is determined to navigate it with grace—and, in true Goop fashion, help others along the way.
For now, she is taking things one day at a time, but she remains hopeful that the worst of it is behind her. “I’m learning as I go, and I think that’s all we can do,” she said. “But I have a feeling the best is yet to come.”
