The Untold Truth Of Chris Martin

Chris Martin may have a normal pedestrian name, but as the lead singer of Coldplay for over 20 years, the man is anything but average. During that time, the music star has racked up seven Grammy wins, four top ten Billboard Hot 100 hits, and worldwide recognition. Continuing to celebrate its superstardom, the British rock outfit released its eighth studio album, Everyday Life, in November 2019 to mostly positive reviews. The record made quite a splash for reasons outside the actual music when Martin announced to BBC News that Coldplay would put a pause on touring in response to environmental concerns.

From his unique upbringing to hanging out with famous friends, Martin has put together quite the showbiz resume and has shown no signs of slowing down. Think you know what life is like for the frontman of one of the most popular bands in the world? Cue up your favorite Coldplay tune as we explore the untold truth of Chris Martin.

Eight studio albums across two decades might come across as a somewhat slow recording speed for a popular band, but Coldplay has continued to make a ton of money through its worldwide tours. 2017's A Head Full of Dreams tour, for example, made over $523 million in ticket sales, making it the third-highest grossing tour of that year. Meanwhile, the band's touring company itself "made a profit of £38.4 million on turnover of £63.7m," according to Music Week, which Chris Martin and his three bandmates split evenly.

By 2019, The Sunday Times ranked the frontman at No. 31 on its United Kingdom Rich List. With a reported net worth of 102 million pounds, the singer has found himself placed among other rich and famous British musicians like Ed Sheeran and Adele. With cash like this on hand, Martin can certainly make some cool purchases. For example, he bought the Malibu Playhouse theatre for $4.45 million in 2018, per TMZ. The sweet seaside venue was previously a church, recording studio, and the home of the Malibu Stage Company, but Martin has yet to disclose what he plans to do with the estate. A year later, the Englishman dropped nearly $5.5 million on a Malibu ranch house. We suppose our invite to the housewarming party got lost in the mail.

The life of a musician — constantly on tour, in the studio, or making public appearances — can be grueling. It's no surprise, then, that an artist may look for ways to cope and stay healthy. During a sit down interview on the Fresh 102.7 radio show, co-host Karen Carson asked Chris Martin about his intense diet ... in particular, his 24- to 30-hour fasts.

"I started doing it because I was sick one time and this guy said to me, 'Just try not eating for a day, because it will make your body feel healthier,'" the Coldplay star explained. From there, Martin realized it actually helped him sing better, allowed for a more creative mind, and made him more grateful for food. The singer-songwriter confessed that to end this once-a-week fast (or, ahem, break-fast), he should probably reach for something green and healthy. But what's the first food he'll treat himself to after those grueling 30 hours? "I tend to have Nutella and pancakes, which is terrible," Martin quipped. "It completely defeats the point." Honestly, we stan this decision.

Though Chris Martin may have never fallen under the "struggling artist" category, that's not to say he had fame served up to him on a silver platter. The members of Coldplay began pursuing music during their college years, and just like many other university students, two of the guys worked a not exactly glamorous side hustle. According to a joint interview posted on Ricky Gervais' website, Martin and friend/bandmate Jonny Buckland used to clean people's apartments in London. In reference to an early stage in Gervais' comedic career, Martin explained, "They'd all left for America — they were short-term lets — so they'd always leave food and, cos we didn't have much money, we would eat the rest of their cornflakes and listen to Ricky on XFM."

The two would bump into each other years later at a 2004 event, which led to Gervais asking Martin to make a cameo appearance on this HBO series, Extras. As MTV News summarized, Martin played a version of himself, the famous lead singer of Coldplay, who had multiple fictional charity events to attend. In an oddly accurate rags to riches story, Martin went from literally cleaning houses (with actual rags, we assume) while listening to a comedian — then later appearing on said comedian's famous TV show.

Chris Martin's upbringing in a relatively plush and religious area in Southwest England had a profound impact on his life. "I grew up with the prospect of heaven and hell looming ever large," he told Rolling Stone, adding, "If you even think about boobs, you're going to hell. It was drilled in." This "black and white" thinking led to Martin's evolving view on homosexuality: "It was more like, 'Oh, s**t, what if [I might be gay]?' Because I was brought up to think that was really wrong."

In a later interview with the magazine, Martin admitted that questioning his sexuality during his boarding school days led to "terrible turmoil." He explained, "I walked a bit funny ... and for a few years, [the other kids] were very much like, 'You're definitely gay.'" Around the age of 15, Martin stopped worrying about the matter, which led to a major turning point in his spirituality: "I was like, 'Yeah, so what?' And then [the worrying and teasing] just stopped overnight ... Eventually, I just was like, 'Okay, I think I have my own relationship with what I think God is.'"

Martin also previously revealed to Rolling Stone that, partially because of his religious upbringing, he didn't lose his virginity until 22. Frustrated with his early luck in the romance department, he said, "I had a tricky time with girls ... It was like, 'I need to be a rock star, because this is no good.'"

In addition to his weekly food fast, Chris Martin appears to live a clean lifestyle in terms of consumption. In a Rolling Stone profile, the author revealed,"Martin's image as a yoga-practicing, pescetarian ascetic is not inaccurate, but he does have a couple of drinks (a Guinness, a whiskey) over the course of two days."

Of course, that's not to say that the Coldplay star is one to over-indulge when it comes to alcohol consumption. In a 2001 interview from Select magazine (republished by The Guardian), Martin claimed he had only been drunk twice in his life at that point. While it'd be easy to point to Martin's religious upbringing as the reason behind this, the article interestingly noted through the singer's own words: "[Martin's] younger brother is 'the anti-Chris, the cool one,' a drum'n'bass DJ who drinks and smokes and has 'experienced all these things for me.'"

Even years after that interview, Martin seemed to stay with a teetotaler mentality despite admittedly feeling "completely worthless" after his split from Gwyneth Paltrow. In 2019, Martin and Dakota Johnson were both spotted "drinking water and eating away" all night on a reported date, according to Us Weekly.

Just because Chris Martin has been in one band — Coldplay, of course — for decades doesn't mean he's done nothing else in the music world. In fact, this popular frontman is a well-respected musician who's appeared on several songs, in addition to conducting production work. 

Martin even worked with some names you may have forgotten — Natalie Imbruglia and Nelly Furtado — on their respective albums. According to The Guardian, Martin wrote what he believed was "the best Coldplay song ever" back in 2009 ... and then lent it to Imbruglia. (You may remember her smash hit "Torn" from 1998, which is actually a cover.) Meanwhile, Martin's work with Furtado actually inspired a future generation. According to British GQ, Dua Lipa collaborated with Martin on her ballad, "Homesick," from her debut album. "It was so surreal, Chris Martin dancing to my music," she recalled in the interview. "I remember saying to him, 'You've written one of my favorite songs ever, the Nelly Furtado song 'All Good Things (Must Come To An End),' and he was like, 'God, I forgot I wrote that.'"

Becoming so musically proficient and prolific in the music business that you can't remember everything you wrote? Uh, no big deal.