Reese Witherspoon 'found' her voice as a single mother: 'No one's coming to help'

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Ryan Phillippe explains how he and ex-wife Reese Witherspoon have set ‘good examples’ for their children

Ryan Phillippe shared the advice that he has given his children about navigating careers in Hollywood. The "Prey" star explained how he and his ex-wife Reese Witherspoon have set "good examples."

Reese Witherspoon looked within to find strength during a particularly difficult time in her life.

Witherspoon, 48, joined forces with Laura Dern and Octavia Spencer during a panel discussion for her production company Hello Sunshine's annual Shine Away event, where she recalled having to "make decisions" both in business and at home.

When asked if there was a specific instance in life where she "found" her voice, Witherspoon admitted "so many moments" came to mind, and that she found inspiration from her Hello Sunshine banner.

One reason she loves the organization is that "we look for stories that women saved themselves," Witherspoon said before adding, "because every woman in this room has saved herself," whether from a "financial situation, an education situation, a bad relationship, you had to save yourself," per People magazine.

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Reese Witherspoon knew "no one was coming to help" her as a single mother. (Getty Images)

"There's a moment in all of our lives when you realize, no wait, no one's coming to help, no one's coming to make that decision."

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Witherspoon added, "For me, I have to make that decision. I've had a lot of those. Being a single mom when I was in my late twenties, I had to make a lot of decisions for my two kids and a lot of financial decisions, too."

"There's a moment in all of our lives when you realize, no wait, no one's coming to help, no one's coming to make that decision."

— Reese Witherspoon

The "Legally Blonde" actress was 23 years old when she welcomed her first child into the world, daughter Ava, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe. The former couple married months before Ava was born in 1999. 

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Their second son, Deacon, was born in 2003. Three years later, Ryan and Reese announced their separation, and she filed for divorce in November 2006. The following year, their marriage was over with a final divorce settled in June 2008.

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She married CAA talent agent Jim Toth in 2011, and welcomed a son named Tennesse James in September 2012. In March 2023, Witherspoon and Toth announced their intent to divorce after 11 years of marriage. 

Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon married in 1999 and have two children together. (RJ Capak/WireImage)

Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth announced they were divorcing days before celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary. (Michael Kovac/Getty Images for  Moet & Chando)

"It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we have made the difficult decision to divorce," they said at the time. "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."

When it came to business, Witherspoon remembered thinking she was "doing something wrong" when, even after earning accolades for "Big Little Lies," she couldn't keep up on the bills for her production company.

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"I had four employees and I couldn't keep the lights on. I remember the accountant calling me going, you didn't make enough money producing those three things to keep four employees," she said. "And I was like, ‘I'm doing something wrong.'"

Reese Witherspoon shares two kids with ex Ryan Phillippe, and has one son with ex-husband, Jim Toth. (Instagram)

She added, "The other thing was that I think it was an important moment for me to realize there's things I didn't know, and I had to reach out for help, and that's when I had a friend help me create a business plan. It's also good to know what you're not good at, and I know what I'm really good at, but it's also important to go, ‘I'm not good at something.’"

The Shine Away programming featured fireside chats on entrepreneurship, panels highlighting resilience and ambition, and pop-ups including a sipping station from Hello Sunshine's new wine, Drop of Sunshine. Guests were provided a chance to taste one of three new offerings, with each wine crafted to be approachable, balanced and versatile.

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The Academy Award-winner is rumored to be dating financier Oliver Haarmann. The pair have been spotted out together several times, with sources confirming to People that they are "casually" dating.

"She enjoys it but doesn't want it to be a big focus. She's busy with work and her son," the source noted. "These are her biggest priorities."