Reese Witherspoon reflects on her early days of motherhood
Actress, producer and entrepreneur Reese Witherspoon has opened up about her most difficult role of all — being a mom.
Appearing on the Armchair Expert podcast with Kristen Bell and Monica Padman, Reese shared that she “didn’t have a lot of support” when she first became a mother to her eldest child, Ava, 22 years ago, at the young age of 23.
“You need so much support and I did not have a lot of support with my first baby and I learned really early that this is not going to work,” the Legally Blonde star confessed.
“I tried to muscle through for five months with Ava, just not sleeping and I just became delirious… I couldn’t have worked if I had to!”
“I was lucky enough to have money saved and I didn’t have to work, but it’s just not a one-person job. I would even say it’s not a two-person job!” she added.
They then went on to talk about fair maternity and paternity pay for all parents, as well as other essential resources for teen moms in foster care.
Reese first became a mother back in September 1999, just three months after she and fellow actor Ryan Phillippe tied the knot. The couple then welcomed their second child together in 2003, a son named Deacon, before going their separate ways and splitting up in 2006.
Reece then started seeing talent agent Jim Toth in 2010, whom she married a year later. They share one child together, a son named Tennessee James Toth, whom she welcomed into the world on September 27, 2012.
Previously opening up on her top parenting tips, the Just Like Heaven actress revealed that she relied a lot on her mom friends during those early days of motherhood, when her own mom wasn’t living in the same city as her.
“I didn’t know anybody because I was really young and I had just moved to Los Angeles, so I really depended on this group of women that were amazing — I joined a yoga group of women, literally, just randomly,” Reece explained.
“They have been my greatest supporters,” she added, sharing that she still relies on them for parenting advice to this day.
