Conscious uncoupling refers to the act of ending a marriage or relationship, but in a way that is viewed as a very positive step by both parties, who believe that their lives will be better for doing so, and that they can continue to remain friends, co-parent if they have children, and possibly not even fall out of love with each other. The expression was hurled into the media spotlight in March 2014 by actress Gwyneth Paltrow and singer Chris Martin, who announced the breakup of their marriage online by saying that they intended to 'consciously uncouple'.

Conscious uncoupling（清醒分手）指双方用一种积极的方式结束婚姻或恋爱关系，他们认为这样做会让他们的生活变得更好，他们还会继续做朋友，如果有孩子的话会继续共同抚养孩子，甚至可能会继续相爱。这个表达在2014年3月被演员温妮丝·帕特洛和歌手克里斯·马汀抛到媒体聚光灯下，他们在网上宣布结束婚姻，说他们是“清醒分手”。

The expression was popularized by Katherine Woodward Thomas, a US marriage therapist and author who posits a method of dealing with breakups in a positive way by focusing on the idea of 'completing' (rather than ending) a relationship and, through lessons learned along the way, being empowered to move on with life as a better person equipped to succeed in any further relationships.

这个表达是由美国婚姻治疗师兼作家凯瑟琳·伍德沃德·托马斯（Katherine Woodward Thomas）普及开来的，她设定了一套用积极的方式应对分手的方法，将关注点放在一段关系的“完整”（而不是结束）上，并且通过吸取一路走来的经验教训让自己开始新生活，成为一个在未来任何一段关系中都能成功的更好的人。