Inside Reese Witherspoon And Ryan Phillippe's Relationship After Divorce

As one of Hollywood's hottest couples who played on-screen love interests, Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe's relationship was fantasized over throughout their '90s romance, until their ultimate split in 2006, while Phillippe was being accused of cheating on Witherspoon with his "Stop-Loss" co-star Abbie Cornish. After years of co-parenting and communicating post-divorce, it's often wondered how the two actors define their relationship now. Well, they're nothing but friendly.

Witherspoon and Phillippe met in 1997 at the "Big Little Lies" star's 21st birthday. After showcasing their electric chemistry in the 1999 film "Cruel Intentions," the couple solidified their public image as a romantic pairing and got married the same year, while Witherspoon was pregnant with their first child, Ava Phillippe. They welcomed their second, Deacon Phillippe, in 2003, and three years after completing their family, the actors separated. Since officially divorcing in 2008, Witherspoon and Phillippe have been under the microscope to see how the stars interact with each other after their public breakup. The exes show people that a healthy partnership can still blossom after a messy end to a relationship.

The pair say that no matter what, their kids are their first priority. "We go to all the school events together and ... we're there for each other," Ryan Phillippe told Ellen DeGeneres on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2010. The ex-husband and wife occasionally show off their co-parenting skills on social media, like in 2022 when their son Deacon Phillippe graduated from high school. Reese Witherspoon posted a cute photo of the family to Instagram, writing in the caption: "You light up our hearts and make us proud everyday." While they may not be the best of friends, Ryan and Witherspoon agree that their children are enough reason to stay in touch. "We never spoke ill of each other and we were always united in support of them," Ryan told Fox News in 2024.

According to Witherspoon, their marriage was doomed from the start. When speaking with the British talk show "Lorraine" about her 2017 film "Home Again," Witherspoon explained the similarities between her character, Alice — who got married at 25 and it didn't last — and her own life, noting that she doesn't regret her relationship with Ryan, but they were just too young. "What do you do when you get to 40 and you made a decision when you were 25 to get married and have kids? I got married when I was 23 and I had two kids by the time I was 27," she said. "You know, sometimes it's good to know yourself."