Reese Witherspoon is getting real about becoming a mom with her ex Ryan Phillippe… at just 23 years old!
Being a young mom is tough as it is, but when you’re also in the entertainment industry — and facing that kind of scrutiny about your decisions, your looks, your time — it’s a whole different ballgame! On Saturday’s episode of The Interview podcast, the 49-year-old actress opened up about life in show business in 1999, after she gave birth to her first child, Ava Phillippe:
“There was so much I didn’t know. And maybe that naïveté was good, because it’s like, ‘Oh, I’ll just do that and have a career.’ And I did have a few people say to me, ‘This is going to be really hard on your career’.”
While trying to navigate “family and career, being a mom and being a working actress” and admitting there “were roles I couldn’t take”, Reese shared that things got scary:
“That’s why it was also scary when Legally Blonde became such a big hit. I wasn’t going to beg for parts; parts were coming to me.”
After Legally Blonde, she had the freedom to choose roles — but that also left her wondering what was worth investing her time in! After all, she had a family to be with, too! With a young baby and a husband, she had other things to focus on besides her career, and that complicated things. She called it “scarier” to have that kind of freedom of choice than what she was previously used to.
Related: Reese & Boyfriend Spotted Getting Hot & Heavy On A Yacht!
Something else she mentioned? How moms were looked at in the industry. She was even warned not to “play a mom” onscreen despite being one IRL! And not just by misogynistic producers! Her fellow actresses warned her it would “make me seem old”! Ugh.
Reese explained:
“And I was like, ‘But, I am a mom’. There was so much about our business that desexualized you, so you couldn’t be a movie star if you played a mom. And thank goodness, that’s sort of going by the wayside. But that was a big part of when I was in my 20s and 30s: ‘Don’t play a mom. No men will desire you, or nobody will want to go see that movie because nobody wants to see a movie about a mom.’”
A harsh reality of our effed up world.
But luckily The Man in the Moon star had good friends who looked out for her — and weren’t there to judge her! While working on Friends, she found two strong allies in Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox:
“I remember I brought my baby, Ava. Ava was only three months old when I was on ‘Friends’ in 1999. And I remember Courteney and Jen coming to my dressing room and knocking on the door and going, ‘We heard you have a baby!’ I was like, ‘I do. I have a baby!’ They were like, ‘Can we see it? Oh, my God, this is so cool’.”
Aww!
Those friendships — especially the one with Jennifer — were great for Reese! She said their “kindness opened a door for me to ask Jennifer a lot of questions when I went through breakups or a really public divorce”. The Just Go With It star was there for all of her relationship ups and downs throughout the years! That’s true friendship.
Reese is, of course, a mom three times over now! She shares her daughter Ava, 26, and son Deacon, 21, with ex Ryan. She also has 12-year-old Tennessee Toth, whom she shares with ex-husband Jim Toth. We’re glad, even though these relationships didn’t work out, the Sweet Home Alabama actress had such great support amid all those “scary” moments.
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[Image via MEGA/WENN]
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