Chris Martin competes with Gwyneth Paltrow's ex-fiance Brad Pitt.

The Coldplay frontman admits he finds it hard to deal with the thought that Gwyneth - who is mother to his two children, Apple, four, and two-year-old Moses - used to be engaged to one of Hollywood's hottest heartthrobs.

He said: "I always felt it would be great to be with a very powerful woman because it would keep you in your place. Being married to someone very successful and very powerful basically keeps you hungry to improve.

"You've got to be hungry. If your wife went out with Brad Pitt, you'd want to prove yourself, you know what I mean?"

Chris also revealed he only became confident with the opposite sex when he hit his twenties.

He said: "I had a tricky time with girls until I was, like, 21. I got trapped in the friendship tip many, many times. It was like, 'I need to be a rock star because this is no good. I want to be the guy that everybody bangs.'"

Chris admitted he often uses sleeping pills to combat his insomnia, but this can sometimes trigger unusual behaviour.
AdvertisementHe added to Rolling Stone magazine: "I often take a sleeping pill, but then I get excited about a song, so I go and play music, and then it kind of kicks in halfway through.

"I have a little corner where nobody can hear me in the middle of the night, and that's where I spend most of the night. I wake up the next morning and find these strange notes to myself - I'm a little bit ashamed about it!".