Gwyneth Paltrow and Dakota Johnson Pose in a Sweet Photo Holding Hands

Gwyneth Paltrow and Dakota Johnson—connected not just as fellow actresses but also as the ex-wife and longtime girlfriend of Coldplay’s Chris Martin, respectively—are modeling a new way of how to blend a family.

Paltrow posted a photo of herself and Johnson holding hands on Instagram yesterday, both women in casual denim, sneakers, hats, and jackets. Paltrow was responding to an Instagram Q&A, where she was asked to post a photo with Johnson, who has dated Martin since 2017. Paltrow shared a photo of them holding hands while out on a seemingly chilly walk together, smiling while standing in the middle of a road.

While it’s not specified when the photo was taken, Johnson celebrated Thanksgiving alongside Martin, Paltrow, and the two children they share, Apple and Moses, in the Hamptons, Page Six reports.

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Dakota Johnson and Chris Martin — Johnson and Martin

Though Martin and Johnson are a fiercely private couple, Paltrow occasionally shares some glimpses into her bond with Johnson, who she spoke of last month: “We’re actually very good friends,” Paltrow said. “I love her so much. She’s an adorable, wonderful person.” For Johnson’s birthday in 2019, Paltrow called her an “absolute gem.”

In addition to traveling together as a combined family unit, the two women were seen hanging out at a Gucci fashion show in 2021.

Martin and Paltrow’s divorce was finalized in 2016, the year before he began dating Johnson; Paltrow has remarried for a second time, tying the knot with Brad Falchuk in 2018. While Paltrow admitted that co-parenting with Martin wasn’t always easy, he is like a “brother” to her now, she said in 2020. “It’s like you’re ending a marriage but you’re still in a family,” she said on The Drew Barrymore Show. “That’s how it will be forever. We also have good days and bad days, but I think it’s driving towards the same purpose of unity and love and what’s best for [our kids]. We have this idea that just because we break up, we can’t love the things about the person anymore that we loved and that’s not true.”

Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow — Paltrow and Martin

After they infamously “consciously uncoupled,” Paltrow said “Chris and I committed to putting them first and that’s harder than it looks because some days you really don’t want to be with the person that you are getting divorced from. But if you’re committed to having family dinner, then you do it. And you take a deep breath, and you look the person in the eye, and you remember your pact and you smile, and you hug…and recommit to this new relationship that you are trying to foster.”

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.