Hollywood actor-producer Reese Witherspoon has opened up about the “terrifying” experience of living in Los Angeles following her divorce in 2008 when paparazzi hounded her and her children aggressively.
In a recent interview, the "Morning Show" star recalled instances of paparazzi chasing her family and how she tried desperately to protect her children.
The 49-year-old actress shares two children—daughter Ava and son Deacon—with her ex-husband, Ryan Phillippe. The actress filed for divorce from Phillippe in 2006.
Witherspoon recalled talking with fellow actor Jennifer Garner about "navigating public interest in our kids and how we could protect them from pictures and paparazzi, because they would be everywhere. All over the schools and all over the cars."
Sharing a scary instance, the actress revealed as she left church in LA with her children, "a guy jumping on the hood of the car and on each side, three people pushing against the window banging on the door ... and chasing us like it was a police chase, down the freeways. It was terrifying."
Witherspoon disclosed how it was "really hard on my kids," who had "bad anxiety" as a result. She also remembered how people would yell "wildly inappropriate" things at them.
"I really regret living in LA during that time," she shared. "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. And there's a little boy and a little girl there."
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The "Big Little Lies" actress expressed sympathy for Britney Spears and other stars who had similar experiences with paparazzi at the time.
"She was a young mother trying to figure it out, away from home, being chased like an animal, and what that kicks up inside your body and what it does for you is very traumatic," Witherspoon said.
But the "Legally Blonde" actress said there has been a shift since the advent of social media, when she and other celebrities could suddenly control when people saw their kids. "There was no longer a market to see pictures of my children because people were getting it for free," she said.
Witherspoon moved her family to Nashville in 2006. After her divorce, the actress married talent agent Jim Toth, with whom she welcomed a son, Tennessee, in 2012. She and Toth divorced in 2023.
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