Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk are opening up about intimacy and family frustrations during lockdown.
The 47-year-old actress and her director husband Brad Falchuk, 49, sat down with an intimacy expert to discuss some of the issues that couples are facing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In a video posted to Paltrow’s Goop Youtube channel, the pair talk to Hollywood counsellor Michaela Boehm.
Paltrow reveals that her two children Apple, 15, and Moses, 13, are struggling with social isolation, while she also asks the intimacy coach some questions about sexual frustrations.
The “Iron Man” star points out: “We’re lucky that we have a really solid relationship but we’re also in the house with the kids and it’s pretty close quarters.”
She explains that her teenagers are feeling very pent in, especially Apple who is a really “social creature.”
Paltrow continues: “We’re really following the strict guidelines so she’s not able to see people she usually sees, so it gets fractious in moments.
“So there’s definitely tensions in the house, and we have the added dynamic of stepparent, and I think there is quite a lot of stress that comes from trying to recalibrate to this new normal and new level of proximity.”
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Admitting that she and her husband are struggling with the lack of privacy, Paltrow asks: “Where do you go as a couple when you’re all in the house and you’ve got dogs, and work, and work from home? It’s like, what are you supposed to do?”
Later in the video, the Goop founder brings up a ‘friend’ who wanted her to ask the therapist about sexual frustrations due to anxiety around the coronavirus.
“She’s having a real hard time feeling sexual and it’s not usually an issue but during this time she’s having a really hard time with it. What do you recommend for women to get back in touch with their sexuality?”
Boehm agrees that most women she has spoken to are not feeling very sexual right now as the female body going into survival mode once it is put under stress.
She says: “Food, comfort and eating sweets to up the body fat; most women are reporting these are the things they want to do. They don’t want so much pleasure.”
Boehm adds that once “boredom kicks in” in a few weeks, the need to seek pleasure will come back again.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
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