Paltrow and Martin 'apply for marriage licence'

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow and her Coldplay frontman boyfriend Chris Martin have applied for a marriage licence in California’s Santa Barbara County, according to a report.

Entertainment Tonight made the claim last night, two days after Paltrow announced she was expecting their first child next summer.

A call to Paltrow’s publicist, Stephen Huvane, was not immediately returned.

Mary Rose Bryson, a supervisor in the county recorder division, told The Associated Press the couple had not requested a public marriage licence. She said some licences were granted confidentially and must be used in Santa Barbara County within 90 days.

The 31-year-old actress has been dating Martin, 26, for the past year. Both have been reticent about publicly discussing their relationship.

In a recent interview with the BBC, Paltrow, who plays poet Sylvia Plath in the upcoming film, Sylvia, said she hoped to marry but would not reveal whether that aspiration extended to Martin.