Reese Witherspoon Candidly Talks About Her 'Vulnerable' Divorce & Finding 'Liberation' in Her 40s
“It’s a vulnerable time for me,” Reese Witherspoon tells Harper’s Bazaar in a candid cover story published Wednesday, July 12. The actress and producer, 47, announced her divorce from Jim Toth after almost 12 years of marriage back in March. Now, she says she is taking time to “get quiet.”
“It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we have made the difficult decision to divorce,” the former couple shared in a joint statement. “We have enjoyed so many wonderful years together and are moving forward with deep love, kindness and mutual respect for everything we have created together.”
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While her divorce from her second husband is no doubt challenging, Witherspoon embraced the chance to write the story herself this time around. “It’s interesting what happened to me,” Witherspoon told Harper’s Bazaar. “When I was divorced before, the tabloid media got to tell people how I was feeling or how I was processing, and it felt very out of control.”
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“To be able to talk to people directly about what’s going on in my life and just share it in the way that I share great professional experiences or personal experiences, it feels much more authentic to be able to say things in my own voice and not let somebody else control what’s happening. Then, of course, there’s speculation, but I can’t control that. All I can do is be my most honest, forthright self and be vulnerable,” she says.
Before marrying Toth in 2011 and welcoming their son, Tennessee James Toth, the following year, Witherspoon married Ryan Phillippe in 1999 after meeting at her 21st birthday two years earlier and co-starring in Cruel Intentions. Witherspoon and Phillippe, 48, welcomed their daughter Ava three months after tying the knot and had a son, Deacon, in 2003. The couple divorced in 2008.
Witherspoon says that being in control of her own narrative has made her divorce less lonely. “I think about how many other people are going through this experience,” she says. “I don’t feel isolated at all. I feel very connected.”
This new and challenging chapter is likely made easier by Witherspoon’s palpable sense of self-assurance. She tells Harper’s Bazaar that her 40s have been a time of discovery. “I think you start to realize there’s a finite amount of time that you have to accomplish what you want to accomplish in this world and that worrying about other people’s opinions of you is a waste of your precious time,” she explains. “It’s a liberation in your 40s to feel free of other people’s opinions. I mean, they’re always there. They just don’t matter as much to you, and it’s a great feeling.”
Before you go, click here to see everything we know about Ava Phillippe.
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