Celebrity Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's Marriage Was 'Falling Apart,' Says Source "They were physically separated and emotionally," a source tells PEOPLE By Michelle Tauber Michelle Tauber Twitter Michelle Tauber is the Editorial Director of Society & Culture at PEOPLE overseeing Parents, Royals, Health, Weddings and Politics. She was previously the Senior Editor of Royals at PEOPLE and PEOPLE's first and only Head Writer. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 2, 2014 08:00 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Long before they announced their split and introduced the world to the term "conscious uncoupling,", Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin were struggling to stay a couple. In this week’s cover story, several friends tell PEOPLE that the pair, who were married for 10 years, at times had an “open” relationship. “They were physically separated and emotionally,” says a Paltrow insider. Adds a close friend of the 41-year-old actress: “They have been on and off for many years. The marriage was falling apart.” Personality conflicts and distance proved challenging for the couple, who are parents to daughter Apple, 9½, and son Moses, who turns 8 next week. The Coldplay rocker, 37, “is the kind of person who is always in a T-shirt,” says another friend. “She’s much more glam.” PHOTOS: Breakup Moons: Couples Who Put Vacation Before Separation With two busy careers to sustain, “they seemed to have a pretty mature handle on that crazy rotation of being superstars and parents,” says a source who knows them both. “But that balance, given the time they had to spend apart, clearly couldn’t sustain itself.” For much more on this story, including a closer look at the splitting stars’s fortune and exclusive details on their Bahamas breakup moon, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE.