Gwyneth Paltrow Is Not Afraid of Getting Older

When it comes to the topic of aging, Gwyneth Paltrow is not holding back.

In a new episode of goop's podcast, The Beauty Closet, Paltrow chatted with hosts Jean Godfrey-June and Megan O'Neill about the realities of getting older, and what aging in the spotlight does to a woman's ability to love herself. The goop founder and CEO revealed that she's always felt "so funny" about her own looks, adding: "I think that it's very rare to think that you're a beautiful person, and so, I feel like every other woman; I don't see that when I look in the mirror."

However, Paltrow noted those insecurities have faded as she's gotten older. "As I go on in life and I feel more and more myself and less judgmental about myself, my values become clearer to me," she explained. "I can be in integrity all the time, which was much harder when you're a younger woman and you're…juggling all this stuff."

Still, growing up in the public eye has undoubtedly left its mark on Paltrow, who went on to describe the pressures of being considered a "beautiful woman" by the media. "It's a weird thing to be...I don't mean in a pejorative way 'objectified,' but sort of cast as something and put in a box," she said. "Then when you come to age, if you have this broad identity as that, what does it mean to get wrinkles and get closer to menopause? It's like, what happens to your identity as a woman if you're not f—able and beautiful?"

For Paltrow, the answer seems to be an uplifting one; she's learning to love herself more and more each day. "Luckily, what's happening at the same time in parallel...you just start to like yourself," she told Godfrey-June and O'Neill, adding: "You get to a point where it's like your pulchritude is waning in a way, and your inner beauty is really coming out…. It's this funny shift that's happening, it's like you feel so good, you know who you are, hopefully you value the relationships in your life, and your work, and your contribution to the world."

This isn't the first time that Paltrow has spoken out on this topic; previously, she told People that she "genuinely loves" her wrinkles and gray hairs, explaining that they help tell her life story. "I feel good about [it]," she added, joking that everyone receives a "software upgrade" of confidence at age 40. "I think it's incredibly sexy … And I wouldn't want to erase years off my face or to travel back in time for anything."