'I'm supporting Madonna': Gwyneth takes sides in Ritchie divorce battle

She is famous for her utmost discretion. But Gwyneth Paltrow publicly took sides in the break up of Madonna's marriage last night.

The actress spoke out on behalf of her friend at the UK premiere of her film Two Lovers which was screened as part of the BFI London Film Festival.

The 36-year-old came down firmly on the side of the 50-year-old singer and said she had been in frequent contact with her since her pending divorce was announced.
The mother of two said: 'She's a very dear friend. I support her in all the ways I can. I'm just here for her and on the other end of the phone. I speak to her a lot.'

The actress also revealed what the name of her new lifestyle newsletter, Goop, stood for. She said: 'Well GP are my initials and Goop is actually a family nickname.'

When asked whether she qualified to offer advice on how to live she said: 'Oh I'm not qualified to give advice to anybody. It's just fun and I'm enjoying it.'

Her husband Chris Martin was absent from the event abiding by their long-standing rule never to appear in public together.
Their decision not to walk the red carpet together was in stark contrast to Madonna and Guy Ritchie, who smiled for the camera at the premiere of Ritchie's film RocknRolla just weeks before the split was announced.

Two Lovers couldn't be more different from Gwyneth's other movie this year, the blockbuster superhero film Iron Man.

The Oscar-winning actress hailed Two Lovers as giving her a 'lifeline' after she took time off film-making to concentrate on motherhood of her two children Moses, two, and Apple, four.
She said: 'It gave to me kind of a lifeline. I feel like I was really able to be very free and raw and true.

'Going from being a mother at home for a long time, which is the greatest joy of my life, to feel like an artist again ... that was a gift.'

In Two Lovers, Gwyneth plays the volatile Michelle, one of two love interests of Joaquin Phoenix's character Leonard in the drama, directed by James Gray.

Despite Leonard's attraction to her, she remains unattainable due to her obsessive love for a married man.

Leonard finds himself torn between Michelle and a family friend Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), who his parents favour.

At the film's world premiere at Cannes in May, Gwyneth admitted she had felt obsessive love just like her character.

She said: 'Yes I have felt obsessive love. When I was younger I fell in love with someone. He wasn't married, but he was into drugs. So he wasn't around when I needed him because of that.

'I became quite obsessed with why he didn't turn up when I wanted him to. I was raised by people who love me and I always felt good about myself, but I still got caught up with thinking that he wasn't there because there was something wrong with me. I just couldn't understand why things weren't working out.'