It was five years ago when the Oscar-winning former actress Gwyneth Paltrow sought to establish a new paradigm for romantic separation and divorce. Ever the trendsetter, Paltrow popularized the term “conscious uncoupling”* while explaining how she was separating from her rock star husband Chris Martin of Coldplay.
Yes, no nasty acrimony or simmering in regret for the star couple. Paltrow and Martin intended to transcend those common pitfalls of what others called “failed marriages.” They had not failed at coupling, but had merely arrived together at a new juncture in life. It was a place from which they could both look clear-eyed and with optimism about their future, uncoupled as it may be. The post-acting Paltrow has become perhaps even more famous for her lifestyle brand Goop than for her thespian accomplishments — and perhaps nothing was Goopier than conscious uncoupling.
But separating from a rock star is one thing — and it’s a road much traveled. Separating from the world’s richest man, however, is something else entirely. It’s so rare that only one person on earth can possibly do it. That person in 2019 is MacKenzie Bezos, who has chosen the verb “dissolve” rather than “uncouple” to signify how she’s ending her marriage to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Putting a lot of restless Amazon investors at ease and displaying a Goop-worthy equanimity, MacKenzie Bezos’s statement about her uncoupling included:
“Grateful to have finished the process of dissolving my marriage with Jeff with support from each other and everyone who reach out to us in kindness. Happy to be giving him all of my interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin, and 75% of our Amazon stock plus voting control of my shares to support his continued contributions with the teams of these incredible companies.”
Ms. Bezos also said — and again, so Goopy in the best way — that she is “excited about my own plans. Grateful for the past as I look forward to what comes next.”
— MacKenzie Bezos (@mackenziebezos) April 4, 2019
*the “conscious uncoupling” coinage is usually attributed to Dr. Habib Sadeghi and Dr. Sherry Sami
