Is Gwyneth Paltrow regretting 'consciously uncoupling' from Chris Martin?

Los Angeles - Gwyneth Paltrow is "proud" of how she and Chris Martin have handled their separation.

The Iron Man 3 star split from the Coldplay frontman in March after nine years of marriage and though she admits it may have been "better" to stay together for the sake of their children, Apple, 10, and eight-year-old Moses, she is happy with how close they have grown since deciding to end their union.

She said: "We've made a lot of mistakes, and we've had good days and bad days, but I have to say, I'm proud of us for working through so much stuff together - and not blaming and shaming.

"Of course, there are times when I think it would have been better if we had stayed married, which is always what your children want. But we have been able to solidify this friendship, so that we're really close."

The 42-year-old beauty also admitted it would have been "easier" not to have tried to retain a friendship with the Fix You singer but they did what was best for their kids.

She added to the new issue of Britain's Harper's Bazaar magazine: "It's painful, it's difficult, it might be easier to say, 'I never want to see you again', but what good does that do anyone?"

Gwyneth met Chris, 37, just three weeks after her beloved father Bruce Paltrow passed away in 2002 and she thinks she would have "died" from grief if it hadn't been for the Viva La Vida star.

She said: "It was very fast. I feel like I would have died somehow if I hadn't met him at that time. I felt like I was going to die of grief. I remember waking up, on one particular night, where I felt like I was having a heart attack and I couldn't breathe... I lay on the floor of my apartment in London and I thought, 'I'm not going to survive this.'

"And he just picked me up and he was so loving and patient through all my grieving. He's really great in a crisis. He has incredible empathy when it comes to somebody's pain."