'They haven't been a couple for years': Report claims Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin were only keeping up appearance of happy marriage 'for sake of family and careers'



Pair currently in the Bahamas together with Apple, 9, and son Moses, 7



They admit they've battled to save marriage and even separated for a time

Vow to 'coparent' in statement bizarrely called 'Conscious Uncoupling'



Statement posted on Gwyneth's Goop site and reads: 'We will always will be a family, and in many ways we are closer than we have ever been'



Gwyneth was recently forced to deny affairs during their marriage

Actress has said before: 'Life is complicated and long and I know people that I respect and admire and look up to who have had extra-marital affairs'



Experts hand out tips for divorce on Goop site

Sources claim they have not been a couple for years but kept up appearances for the sake of their children



Gwyneth Paltrow and husband Chris Martin were 'pretending' to be happy for the sake of their family and careers but in reality had been separated for some time it has been claimed.

A source close to the pair who announced their split after ten years of marriage on Tuesday, told New York Daily News that they were only keeping up the appearance of a happy marriage when in fact they hadn't been a couple for 'a number of years.'



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Split: Rarely photographed couple Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin - seen here at Sean Penn & Friends HELP HAITI HOME event on January 11th this year - have announced their 10-year-marriage has come to an end

A source told the Daily News: 'This news should surprise no one.They haven’t been a couple for a number of years and have been pretending for the sake of the kids and each other’s careers.' The actress broke the news on her Goop lifestyle website, writing: 'It is with hearts full of sadness that we have decided to separate.' In their emotional, somewhat bizarrely entitled, statement called 'Conscious Uncoupling', Gwyneth, 41, and Chris, 37 admitted they had spent more than a year battling to save their marriage.

They wrote: 'We have been working hard for well over a year, some of it together, some of it separated, to see what might have been possible between us, and we have come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much we will remain separate.



'Our hearts are full of sadness': The couple announced the separation on Goop, causing the website to crash

'We are, however, and always will be a family, and in many ways we are closer than we have ever been.



'We are parents first and foremost, to two incredibly wonderful children and we ask for their and our space and privacy to be respected at this difficult time.



'We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and co-parent, we will be able to continue in the same manner.

On Tuesday a source told New York Daily News that Paltrow and Martin had nearly split last August, but decided to give it one more shot.



Lights, camera, smile! The couple made another public appearance together on January 12 at the Golden Globes. They were filmed giggling like teenagers during the ceremony...

Candid moment: But the couple's Hollywood smile seemed to slip as the night wore on

The couple are said to have escaped to Eleuthera in the Bahamas with their children before the announcement was made on Gwyneth's website.

The letter was signed off by writing 'Love Gwyneth & Chris'. Shortly after posting the statement, the website crashed.

Gwyneth and Chris, who wed in a secret ceremony in Mexico in December 2003, have spent most of their 10-year relationship trying to avoid being photographed together in an effort to maintain their privacy.



Last year, they moved from London to Los Angeles and were only recently pictured looking like a happy family as they took their out and about in the sunshine.



Still a united front: The Hollywood Stands Up To Cancer gala on January 28 marked their last public appearance as a couple

GWYNETH AND CHRIS ESCAPE TO THE BAHAMAS... TOGETHER

Gwyneth and Chris' separation is shaping up to be the most civilized split in Hollywood.

The couple are understood to be currently holidaying in the Bahamas together along with their daughter Apple, nine, and son Moses, seven. They flew out for a secret getaway on Monday, according to sources, before publicly announcing the end of their 10-year marriage. And a source exclusively told MailOnline that the Coldplay singer even bought the actress a special gift to mark the new stage in their lives; a painting of a bird in flight by Mila Fürstová.



The split came as even more of a surprise as the couple had made several high profile appearances together, the last in January, when they were seen giggling like teenagers as they sat next to each other at the 71st Annual Golden Globes, held at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angele s.

Their statement was followed by tips for 'Conscious Uncoupling' by Dr. Habib Sadeghi & Dr. Sherry Sami, who make it clear the couple are heading for divorce, writing: 'Divorce is a traumatic and difficult decision for all parties involved—and there’s arguably no salve besides time to take that pain away.'

'However, when the whole concept of marriage and divorce is reexamined, there’s actually something far more powerful—and positive—at play.'

Their state of their marriage has long come under scrutiny - and Gwyneth often called rumours they were breaking up 'ridiculous'.



And it follows the end of a difficult 2013 when the actress's life came under the spotlight after it was revealed she was set to be the subject of an 'explosive takedown' piece by publication Vanity Fair.



Last October Gwyneth was forced to denied a 'romantic relationship' with supermodel Elle Macpherson's billionaire husband Jeff Soffer - after it was claimed their friendship was set to be probed in the article.



Was Vanity Fair's 'epic take-down' the death knell for their relationship? Gwyneth worked hard for the article to never see the light of day (the final issue appears right with a Gwyneth-related cover line)



Strain: During the time Chris and Gwyneth - seen here in October 2012 in LA - were working to save their marriage, rumours were flying around about the planned Vanity Fair article

Denials: In October last year, Gwyneth's reps denied any 'romantic relationship' with Elle Macpherson's husband Jeff Soffer (left). While in February her rep denied she an affair with lawyer Kevin Yorn (right)

GOOP GURU GWYNETH ON LOVE, MARRIAGE AND 'UNCOUPLING'

' I am a great romantic - but I also think you can be a romantic and a realist. Life is complicated and long and I know people that I respect and admire and look up to who have had extra-marital affairs.' (2011) 'I’m just a normal mother. There’s nothing perfect about my life, but I just try hard.' (2011) 'I asked my dad once, "How did you and Mum stay married for 33 years?" And he said, "Well, we never wanted to get divorced at the same time." And I think that's what happens. When two people throw in the towel at the same time, you break up, but if one person's saying: "Come on, we can do this," you carry on. I hate to say, "We've got it worked out," because you never know what's going to happen, but we laugh, we're good friends, we like to do the same stuff.' (2013) 'I'm a very grounded, homey person and Chris is a very mad scientist, genius songwriter. So I never say "Where are you? You should be home by now." I never place demands on him because I think he's a really talented man and he's putting something good into the world.' - (2013 ) 'Whatever you're feeling, do the opposite. Go at him with love and you give him a b*** j**.' - Chelsea Handler recounting Gwyneth's advice for avoiding relationship rows (2013) 'We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and coparent, we will be able to continue in the same manner.' (2014)

The magazine was said to be delving into rumours over her friendship with the property developer, according to Page Six, following a 2008 party in Miami during which they were seen looking close.

However, a spokesman for the Oscar winner told told MailOnline: 'It's completely false. Jeff is a longtime friend of Gwyneth's and there was no romantic relationship with him at all, He flew many of his friends to Miami that weekend - not just Gwyneth.'

At the time, MailOnline also told how Gwyneth's friendship with a formerly married literary agent, the subject of previously reported rumours, couple also be explored by the magazine.



However, in the end, Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter told how he had canned the piece, revealing how the actress had issued a 'Kim Jong-un'-style demand to friends in a desperate attempt to ban them from talking to the magazine.

Writing in the March issue, he admitted: 'The fact is the Gwyneth Paltrow story, the one we ordered up, as delightfully written as it was, is not the one the anti-Gwynethites expect.'

'That it has generated more mail and attention than many of the biggest stories we've ever published only makes the situation more complicated.'

And despite Mr Carter's comments, Gwyneth was soon again forced to deny claims she had been having an affair with entertainment lawyer Kevin Yorn - which was also allegedly set to appear in the Vanity Fair piece.

Her spokesman said: 'The story is completely false. Gwyneth knows Kevin casually through business contacts.' The report is said to have emerged on Whisper, a new secret-sharing app, according to GossipCop.

Flying solo: Gwyneth at the Golden Globes on her own in 2006, and at the Oscars in 2012 and 2011

And the spokesman added: 'She is not at all romantically connected to him.'

As recent as last month,reports on secret-sharing app Whisper claimed Paltrow and entertainment lawyer Kevin Yorn had been romantically involved, but her rep said the rumours were 'categorically untrue.'



In 2011, Gwyneth was outspoken on her views on adultery, admitting 'I am a great romantic - but I also think you can be a romantic and a realist.

'Life is complicated and long and I know people that I respect and admire and look up to who have had extra-marital affairs.

Dividing their assets? Their homes include this £7million London mansion in Belsize Park which they bought ten years ago from actress Kate Winslet

Who gets what: Pictured is their $10.45 million 'House Of Windsor' home in Brentwood, California which they purchased in late 2012

Dividing it up: The stars have five properties together, including this $14million Malibu home which it emerged that they had just purchased last week

Interesting development: The couple are renovating their newest property, which could serve as a pad for Chris to take the children for part of the time if Gwyneth keeps their Los Angeles home

'It's like we're flawed. We're human beings and sometimes you make choices that other people are going to judge," she continued.

'That's their problem but I really think that the more I live my life the more I learn not to judge people for what they do. I think we're all trying our best but life is complicated.'

However, she was quick to add: 'I'm lucky - I have a wonderful, blessed life. I have two fantastically delightful children and a very nice husband, so...'Knock on wood.'

New York state of mind: Gwyneth, 41, and 37-year-old Chris also own a loft in the Tribeca area of the Big Apple

Split decision: As neither of them is on the East Coast too regularly, they made divide their New York apartment and their Hamptons summer home (pictured) equally CHRIS' ODE TO GWYNETH

Chris has always been incredibly private about his relationship with Gwyneth, but he made a very public declaration of love through his music. He famously wrote Coldplay's 2005 hit Fix You for her following the death of her beloved father, Bruce Paltrow.

The actress was left devastated after she witnessed the film director die of a heart attack during an Italian tour to mark her 30th birthday in 2002. Gwyneth's mother Blythe Danner revealed the emotional song still brings her to tears. 'I weep every time I hear it,' she said in 2012.

Gwyneth had also admitted how she suffered a devastating miscarriage while trying for a third child. In an interview with People magazine last April, she revealed: 'It was awful. 'It happened really late, and I wasn't expecting it at all.

'For a long time I just couldn't understand that it had happened and why.

'I was like "But I can't not be pregnant. I'm already past the first trimester, and I have three car seats in my head." 'To this day I feel like I'm missing that kid. But it wasn't meant to be and you have to trust the universe.' The star said the miscarriage made her grateful for the positive things in her life, especially her two children - eight-year-old Apple and Moses, seven.

'More than anything I just realised "Oh my God, I'm so lucky to have two healthy kids,"' she said.

Chris is currently promoting Coldplay's new album Ghost Stories and will undoubtedly take it on a global tour, while Gwyneth most recently filmed Mortdecai with Johnny Depp.