When Chris Martin felt 'down and confused'

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin says one reason why he split from actress Gwyneth Paltrow is because he had felt "down and confused" in life.

The musician claimed that his split from the actress had allowed him to figure out where he had "gone wrong" in the past, reports mirror.co.uk.

The "Yellow" hitmaker called time on his marriage to the 43-year-old actress last year and has admitted the shocking break-up changed his outlook on life for the better.

Speaking on Australia's 2DayFM, he said of the split: "I went through some big changes... everyone knows about them."

"(I was able to) figure out where I've gone wrong in my way of looking at the world. A few years ago I was in a low place in my life and was feeling kind of down and confused. Some friends gave me a book and a poem and those two things started me off on this whole journey where I just feel so happy to be alive."

Martin also said that it may sound a "little simple but I suddenly feel very grateful to be alive and if it's coming across then that's great to hear".

The 38-year-old singer and Paltrow, who got married in 2003, revealed they were "consciously uncoupling" via a joint statement on her lifestyle website, Goop.

Despite their split, the pair have always remained close for the sake of their children, Apple, 11, and Moses, 9.