Resident wellness queen Gwyneth Paltrow has long advocated for body acceptance (who could forget her statement-making, 50th-birthday-themed nude photoshoot?), but that doesn't mean she was immune to the “jarring” realities of aging. In fact, the Goop founder just opened up about how it felt to turn 40 back in 2012 while also getting candid about how she handles the “painful” process of aging today.

In a new interview with Bustle, Paltrow explained that seeing signs of aging is what originally caused her to view skin and skincare in a new light.

“I think that’s also why turning 40 was so jarring, because that’s when I started to notice crow’s feet and this and that,” she shared. “It’s so interesting to me how until you have that, you somehow think you’re never going to have that. You think you’re going to be impervious, and it seems like this whole thing that other people are needlessly worrying about.”

She continued, “Then you’re like, ‘Oh, my God, my face.’ So it’s double-pronged for me. I am constantly in an exercise of embracing where I am and also embracing this painful thing of not being young and beautiful. Sometimes I almost think of a person that I’m hugging, like, ‘This is supposed to happen. This is OK.’”

But while accepting her older self may be an ongoing journey, Paltrow added that she is now fully enjoying being in her 50s.

“Fifty was great,” Gwyneth, who turned 51 last month, shared. “I was concerned I was going to feel a lot of grief or fear because I remember when I turned 40, the anticipation… I really flipped out. I didn’t have that at all at 50. I was like, ‘I love my friends. I love my husband. I love my kids. Yeah, my job is hard. But this is good.’”

The actress added, “To your point, it’s like: I don’t give a f*ck what anyone says about me, thinks about me, this is who I am. I felt like 50 was a deepening into myself. And, apparently, that just keeps getting better.”

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