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Reese Witherspoon Is a Mom of 3: Meet Kids Ava, Deacon and Tennessee Amid Split From Jim Toth

Reese Witherspoon has successfully tackled Hollywood while taking care of her three kids — Ava Phillippe, Deacon Phillippe and Tennessee Toth — and she doesn’t regret any moment of it.

“I mean, all of [my roles] are a labor of love and effort that you put into them,” Reese told Entertainment Tonight in July 2017 while chatting about how she juggles parenting and her many showbiz gigs. “I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve worked a lot in my life.”

She has been balancing her personal and professional life for decades now considering she became a mom at a young age. She welcomed her first child, daughter Ava, with her first husband, Ryan Phillippe, in 1999, followed by son Deacon in 2003. After the former couple ended their marriage following nine years in 2008, she moved on with her second spouse, Jim Toth, in 2011. The duo expanded Reese’s family when she gave birth to son Tennessee in 2012.

On March 24, 2023, the pair announced their split in an Instagram post after more than a decade of marriage. 

“We have some personal news to share … It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we have made the difficult decision to divorce,” the statement read. “We have enjoyed so many wonderful years together and are moving forward with deep love, kindness and mutual respect for everything we have created together.”

The Legally Blonde star maintained that their “biggest priority” is “our son and our entire family as we navigate this next chapter.” 

While Reese has put in a lot of hours in the workplace over the years, she has always made sure she spends just as much time with her kids at home. In fact, she was homeschooling her youngest child during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, and she was also teaching Tennessee how to ride a bike.

“We have rules around the house. I always say, ‘If you aren’t yelling at your kids, you’re not spending enough time with them,'” she joked in 2017, according to Brampton Guardian. “[I’m] just telling everyone to clean up all the time.” But, of course, the Big Little Lies star has also had great times with her children.

In December 2019, she and Ava attended The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Breakfast event together. Months earlier in May, the Oscar winner and her mini-me walked the red carpet at the Big Little Lies Season 2 premiere.

“It’s nice to have a big family,” Reese gushed to InStyle about the advantages of having her kids at work. “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. This is the one life you get, and you have to live it to the very end.”

Because of that mindset, Reese and Ava have grown to be very close. “I feel like we grew up together,” she told ET. “It’s great.”

Scroll through the gallery below to see photos and learn more about Reese Witherspoon’s kids.