Tragic Details About Reese Witherspoon's Love Life

The following article includes mentions of abuse.

Reese Witherspoon shared rare insight into a past tragic relationship in her life on the September 20, 2025, episode of The New York Times podcast "The Interview." She told host Lulu Garcia-Navarro that, "I wasn't emotionally mature when I was young," and she found herself in an abusive relationship, unaware of what was really going on until she had distance from it. "So when I got out of that, it took me a while to reconstitute myself. My spirit had been diminished because I thought all those awful things that person said about me were true. And I had to rewire my brain," she said. She ultimately gained her self-esteem and confidence to become the woman that we see today. The experience helped Witherspoon understand how other people in similar relationships also don't recognize when they're being mistreated. 

The "Legally Blonde" star previously spoke about leaving an abusive relationship in an issue of O, the Oprah Magazine, in 2018, per E! News. "I drew a line in the sand, and it got crossed, and my brain just switched. I couldn't go any further," she said at the time. "It changed who I was on a cellular level, the fact that I stood up for myself." She explained that this person tried to take her ambition from her, but she'll never let it happen again. 

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

On "The Interview," Reese Witherspoon also spoke about how being in the public eye has impacted her emotionally, since it's incredibly challenging to balance privacy and fame. "It's nearly impossible at this point with everybody dehumanizing you in a certain way, like taking pictures of you like you're an animal in the zoo instead of a person with their children or having a private moment," she said. 

The "Sweet Home Alabama" star is mom to two adult children, her lookalike daughter Ava and son Deacon, whom she shares with her first ex-husband, Ryan Phillippe, and her youngest son, Tennessee Toth, whom she shares with her second ex-husband Jim Toth. During her conversation with Lulu Garcia-Navarro, she admitted she had a lot to learn in her marriage to Phillippe about balancing motherhood and her career. But it was all the attention that her family got when she and Phillippe divorced in 2007 that scared her most. 

"I know it feels like they're just taking pictures, but it would be like 25 people on the side of the soccer field photographing me and Ryan to see if we got along or we didn't get along," she said, describing one particularly terrifying moment. "And there's a little boy and a little girl there."