Reese Witherspoon Reveals What It’s Really Like Being a Famous Mom in Intimate, Behind-The-Scenes Photos
Following your dreams, lifting up women in Hollywood, and raising well-rounded kids in the public eye — Reese Witherspoon has done it all! Like Elle Woods would say, “What, like it’s hard?” In actuality, though, being a famous mom is hard, and Witherspoon just lifted the curtain on what it actually takes. She shared intimate, behind-the-scenes photos of real parenting moments throughout the years, and we love seeing her authenticity.
In a new post on Instagram, the Big Little Lies star shared that she’s been asked what “raising three kids and building a career in Hollywood” was like. Witherspoon is mom to Ava Phillippe, 25, and Deacon Phillippe, 21, who she shares with ex Ryan Phillippe, and Tennessee Toth, 12, with ex Jim Toth. It may look glamorous, but it’s not always.
Witherspoon shared photos throughout the years in her Instagram carousel, captioning each slide to give more details. In one photo with a young Tennessee, she wrote, “It looked like spending a lot of time in trailers together.”
In another, she smiled next to Ava and Deacon in the back of the car, with all three dressed up. (Deacon even wore a cute fedora!) One screenshot happened from a text Deacon sent her, when he told his mom, “Mom you butt-dialed an Instagram live.” She wrote, “It looked like my kids constantly giving me career advice!” Ugh, can you imagine?
Sometimes were much harder than others. In one smiling selfie, she wrote, “It 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,” Witherspoon added. Working moms know exactly what this feels like, whether you’re in Hollywood or not. We work so hard for ourselves and our kids, but we still want to be part of all the important moments in their lives too. Being tired is the price we pay to do it all.
At the end of the day, though, Witherspoon did her best to never complain. The You’re Cordially Invited star said she would do her best “to say something positive about work when I got home at night.” She explained that she did this “so my kids would know that my work was meaningful to me and could be fun!”
“Even though it was challenging at times, having kids gave me perspective about what was important in life,” Witherspoon added. “Nothing was better than getting to come home and hug them and hear about their day!”
In the comments, other moms (both in Hollywood and not) appreciated her vulnerability. “Thank you for this ❤️,” Lily Collins wrote. Kerry Washington commented, “This hit hard today. Straight into my heart. Thank you.”
Isla Fisher said, “This is so true! Well done ????” Paris Hilton left a “????” emoji and Suki Waterhouse commented, “❤️????.”
“this is like a breath of fresh air no one ever shares this,” someone else said. Another wrote, “I love this and you so much ???????? such a good mama and inspiration to other mom bosses ????????”
This isn’t the first time Hello Sunshine founder has chatted about working motherhood. “I’m just trying to hold on, trying to make it through,” she previously told InStyle. “My older kids help with the little one. It’s nice to have a big family… My mom worked, and I think it’s good for kids to see women working and being successful. I think it’s going to make them hard workers because they see that I don’t get much sleep. But I love what I do.”
“I want them to grow up with passion,” she continued. “This is the one life you get, and you have to live it to the very end.”
Before you go, check out these mega-rich celeb kids who have an eye-watering net worth!