Signs Reese Witherspoon And Jim Toth's Divorce Was Messier Than They Let On

To look at multi-hyphenate movie star Reese Witherspoon and her bubbly, blonde-haired, blue-eyed demeanor, one might think she could face any of life's challenges with a beaming smile and optimistic attitude — her divorce from her second husband, Jim Toth, being no exception. But inside sources allege that the split was not as clean-cut as one might think.

While the "Morning Show" star has maintained a positive outlook on her life post-divorce and her ex-husband and father to her youngest son, Tennessee, a friend and colleague of the couple revealed to The Sun that the relationship was a ticking time bomb. The final push of the detonator? A mid-life crisis that turned spouses into strangers. 

"Jim is the one who has changed massively just in the last few years," the source disclosed. "Jim just isn't the guy Reese married and had a son with anymore. His personality, his attitude, and his whole take on life really changed when he got out of the agency business."

According to The Sun's anonymous source, Jim Toth's personality took a turn around the same time his career did. After leaving his decades-long position as a talent agent and partner at Creative Artists Agency, he was the Head of Content Acquisitions and Talent for the streaming platform Quibi. Once Quibi shuttered after less than a year, Toth focused his efforts on the production company started by his ex-wife, Reese Witherspoon, Hello Sunshine. 

The source explained that after Hello Sunshine was sold to Candle Media in 2021, Toth and Witherspoon reached a crossroads that ultimately led to their decision to divorce. Calling it a "gut check moment" for the husband and wife of 11 years, the anonymous source said of Toth's attitude change, "Call it a midlife crisis if you want, but that's when the tattoos, the chunky, weird jewelry, and dressing like somebody half his age really took hold." 

Although the divorce announcement published in a since-deleted Instagram post in March 2023 might've come as a shock for those outside the Witherspoon-Toth social circle, sources told Page Six that those closest to the couple knew that they were on the fritz for months before they went public with the news. While they insisted that no great scandal sent the couple over the edge, sources told the outlet there was "zero spark and zero romance" by the end of Witherspoon and Toth's relationship.

Actor, producer, brand owner, book club leader, and mom of three, Reese Witherspoon has no shortage of ways to spend her time post-split from her second husband, Jim Toth, and that's exactly what she's been doing — staying busy, with a bit of wiggle room for slowing down and being easy on herself. In a July 2023 cover story for Harper's Bazaar, Witherspoon said she felt more in control of the narrative of this divorce than her first split with Ryan Phillippe in 2006. 

"It's a vulnerable time for me," she admitted. But at the same time, "I think about how many other people are going through this experience. I don't feel isolated at all. I feel very connected." Meanwhile, Witherspoon has continued spending time with friends and family, running her lifestyle brand Draper James, starring in "The Morning Show," producing, and generally enjoying the well-earned fruits of her labor — one of which was being named "the world's richest actress" by Forbes in 2021. 

Witherspoon and Toth reached a divorce settlement in August 2023 that established joint custody of their young son, Tennessee, and an agreement that neither party would pay child support to the other, per The Blast. All in all, Witherspoon seems to be moving on from her second divorce with a clear head and the same tireless work ethic. To quote her "Legally Blonde" character Elle Woods, "What, like it's hard?"