Reese Witherspoon posts rare snap of all 3 kids while revealing why being a parent in Hollywood is so 'challenging'

Daily Mail​

12 hours ago

Reese Witherspoon shared a rare photo of herself with all three of her children on Thursday as she opened up about how 'challenging' it is to be a mother and a busy Hollywood star.
The 49-year-old Oscar winner beamed in her photo as she was joined by her daughter Ava Phillippe, 25, and older son Deacon Phillippe, 21, as well as her youngest son Tennessee Toth, 12.
Reese shares her lookalike older children with her first husband, the actor Ryan Phillippe, while Tennessee is from her second marriage to the talent agent Jim Toth.
The Legally Blonde stsar — whose mini-me daughter recently landed her first lead role in a film — showed off a brilliant smile while her kids surrounded her for the family photo.
She delved into her struggles raising her three children and how it was nearly impossible to become a massively successful actress without heavily involving her kids in her work.
'Someone asked me what raising three kids and building a career in Hollywood looked like...' she began her slideshow.
'It looked like spending a lot of time in trailers together,' she continued with a photo of Tennessee climbing on the back of a sofa in her trailer on a set.
Then she posted a photo of herself in the backseat of a car with a much younger Ava and Deacon sitting next to her.
'It looked like always being on the road together,' she continued.
Then she joked that raising her family also 'looked like my kids constantly giving me career advice!'
Reese included a screenshot of a text message from Deacon in which he informed her that she had 'butt-dialed an instagram live.'
He helpfully included a screenshot of the pitch-black Instagram screen as flummoxed fans commented on it.
The Morning Show actress went on to admit that parenting her three kids 'looked really hard sometimes.'
'I'd cry working 14 to 17 hours, sometimes all night long and still woke up early for carpool. I was deliriously tired,' she admitted, though she attached the text to a photo of herself smiling ear to ear while cuddling with Ava and Deacon, who looked much more like his younger brother in the old photo than he does now.
Even though she displayed an ear-to-ear smile, Reese said she would 'cry' after 'working 14 to 17 hours, sometimes all night long,' even though she still had to get up early to take her kids to school
'It looked like trying to say something positive about work when I got home at night,' Reese continued.'
She added, 'So my kids would know that my work was meaningful to me and could be fun!'
Reese illustrated that fun with a photo of herself dressed as a police officer from her 2015 comedy Hot Pursuit, which she starred in with Sofía Vergara.
She was joined under a tent on set by a young Deacon, who showed off a soft smile that contrasted with her winning grin.
The Walk The Line star capped off her series of posts with a sweet photo of young Ava leaning against her affectionately as they posed in front of a lake.
'In conclusion, even though it was challenging at times, having kids gave me perspective about what was important in life.
'Nothing was better than getting to come home and hug them and hear about their day!' she wrote.
In her caption, Reese added that she was 'Grateful to stand alongside other moms in this beautiful, messy journey 💕.'
Reese shares her two oldest children, Ava and Deacon, with her first husband, the actor Ryan Phillippe.
Her Little Fires Everywhere costar Kerry Washington wrote in the comments: 'This hit hard today. Straight into my heart. Thank you.'
The Emily In Paris star Lily Collins also chimed in, writing, 'Thank you for this ❤️.'
Reese was married to her older children's father Ryan from 1999 to 2007.
The two had announced their separation in October 2006, and she filed for divorce in November of that year over irreconcilable differences.
An affair Ryan allegedly had with the actress Abbie Cornish was also reportedly a contributing circumstance.
After a two-year relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal from 2007 to 2009, Reese started up another relationship with Jim Toth in 2010, and they tied the knot the following year.
She welcomed Tennessee in September 2012, but her marriage to Jim came to an end in 2023.