Gwyneth Paltrow says life with her ex-boyfriends Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck was "strange".

The Oscar-winning actress - who has two children, six-year-old Apple and Moses, four, with her Coldplay frontman husband Chris Martin - insists her high-profile relationships with the two Hollywood actors were surreal.

Gwyneth - who is rarely photographed with her husband and tries to keep her family life out of the public spotlight - said: "It was strange to be part of a public couple."

Although the 'Country Strong' star's parents were both involved in the movie industry - her mother Blythe Danner is an actress and late father Bruce Paltrow was a director - Gwyneth revealed claims she didn't live a privileged life growing up.

In a new E! special, 'Gwyneth Paltrow', that aired in the US on Wednesday night (22.12.10), she said: "I would say, 'Dad, I can't go out to dinner, I have no money.' And he would say, 'You're welcome to come over here and eat at our house anytime, but I'm not giving you money for your social life.' "

Blythe added: "We could have paid for everything and had a spoiled kid. [But] I think it's really important for people to work hard."

Despite her seemingly perfect life, Gwyneth - whose acting career is going from strength to strength - admits she has gone through some difficult times, especially when she suffered from post-partum depression after the birth of her son Moses.

She explained: "You don't want anybody to know that you're depressed or crying all the time. There's this shame that we bring to it and it's incredibly debilitating and scary and you just don't feel like yourself."