The Rumors About Reese Witherspoon's Daughter & Ryan Phillippe Are Pretty Messy

Ryan Phillippe is constantly boasting about how he and his ex Reese Witherspoon co-parent. "We never really had a hard time of it," he told Fox News in 2024. "We were always both so devoted, even once we were no longer together." The former couple are parents of eldest daughter, Ava Phillippe, and younger son, Deacon Phillippe. However, recent reports suggest that Ryan's relationship with his kids, specifically Ava, is not what it seems.

In April 2025, a source claimed to the Daily Mail that Ava is voluntarily "estranged" from her father. "She has no contact with him and rarely mentions him," they said, adding, "Ryan hasn't been a present father figure in her life for years." The insider suggested that their distanced relationship resulted from Ryan's legal troubles. The "Cruel Intentions" star was slapped with an assault lawsuit in 2017 from his ex-girlfriend, Elsie Hewitt, who alleged that the actor pushed her down the stairs. Although they reached a settlement before going to trial in 2019, the suit not only tainted his public image, but also how his family perceived him.

The insider told the Mail that the assault accusations did not sit right with Ava, whose relationship with her father hasn't been the same since 2018. "Her issue with Ryan is his treatment of women which she finds appalling," they said, noting that she has unfollowed her dad on social media.

As Ava Phillippe continues to distance herself from her father, Ryan Phillippe is pulling out all the stops to mend his relationship with her. According to a source who spoke with Woman's Day, the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" star is pleading with Reese Witherspoon to step in and arbitrate the situation. "But she simply can't," they explained. "As much as she'd love for her daughter to have a supportive and functional relationship with her dad, it's not up to her to play mediator all the time. They're both adults now and she's not about to put any more pressure on Ava than there already is."

Ava is now a budding Hollywood star, who is credited with episode appearances on hit shows like "Doctor Odyssey" and "Ransom Canyon." As she begins her climb to A-lister status, she is considering what her industry name will be. According to the Women's Day insider, Ava is thinking about using her mother's surname as her own — fitting, since she looks like Witherspoon's twin — and putting the final nail in the coffin of her rumored sour relationship with her father.