Gwyneth Paltrow says merging her family with her husband Brad Falchuk‘s was no easy feat — admitting that becoming a stepmom was tough, and at times … a pain in the ass.

The actress opened up about her blended family struggles while attending the Visionary Women’s International Women’s Day Summit in Beverly Hills on Wednesday. During the event, she shouted out her fellow stepmoms — asking the crowd, “It’s a bitch, right, guys?”

Gwyneth went on to call becoming a stepmom to Brad’s teenage kids, Isabella and Brody, a learning experience … noting that the relationship was difficult at first, according to Page Six.

Per GP — who shares daughter Apple, 19, and son Moses, 17, with ex Chris Martin… she navigated the rough dynamic by just continuously giving without expecting anything in return.

This isn’t the first time that Gwyneth has hinted there were issues creating her modern family. Remember, she previously revealed that she waited a year after her 2018 nuptials to move in with BF and his brood … so, obviously, the whole process was relatively slow-going.

As she explained to Jimmy Kimmel in 2019 … she and Brad were simply trying to be mindful of their respective kids’ feelings — as they didn’t want to move too quickly.

Gwyneth’s stepmom experience is certainly different from Dakota Johnson‘s — who has been dating the Coldplay frontman for the last six years. Dakota recently publicly declared her love for Apple and Moses, gushing … “I love those kids like my life depends on it.”

Gwyn on the other hand … well, she may need to work on her delivery when discussing her stepkids. This is as tough love-y as it gets!