Gwyneth and Chris Hold a New-Age Uncoupling Ceremony

Talk about breaking up on good terms! Rumor has it that Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin did something truly extraordinary as part of their split. They are “consciously uncoupling,” as Paltrow put it on her website, Goop.com. And for them, this includes going to the Bahamas for what they’re reportedly calling a “break-up-moon.”

While on the vacation, the couple engaged in a spiritual ceremony to mark their separation. Paltrow hopes that their split won’t be “seen as a sign of failure but as an ‘inevitable circumstance,'” a friend explains.

Sources say that a Kabbalah rabbi led the beachside ceremony, during which Paltrow and Martin read from a sacred book, lit a fire, and used stones to symbolize the “concrete relationship” that will continue between them. They then threw the rocks into the water to symbolize their “wandering spirits.” They also reportedly recited, “Blessed are you in coming in and blessed are you in going out” and kissed farewell. Sounds very New Age-y and far out but also pretty damn healthy and quite lovely, actually.

This was just one aspect of a trip that included the actress and the Coldplay singer waking up at 5am for “daily counseling and joint meditation sessions,” the friend says. It was unclear whether the children were present for the ceremony but it was a family vacation overall. 

Martin also reportedly presented Paltrow with a goodbye gift during the trip. The present was a painting of a bird in flight “to mark this new stage.”

(Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)