Reese Witherspoon is the cover girl for the October issue of Marie Claire. The cover is much, much too pink, but I really like the black-and-white pictorial. Considering she doesn?t have a movie coming out, I think she just got the cover to talk about her work with Avon, and how she?s The New Reese. The New Reese went into effect earlier this year, around the time everyone figured out that she could no longer carry a movie and defend her $15 million-plus paychecks. All of a sudden, Reese seemed to want to change up her image from the oh-so-wholesome single mother/America?s sweetheart (who couldn?t carry a movie). She kept up the appearances at church, of course, and she got engaged to Jim Toth. But she did some sexier pictorials, began talking up her desire to break out of the rom-com mold, and then she started hanging out with Chelsea Handler, and she made some remarks at the MTV Movie Awards that I found rather patronizing. Oh, and Reese?s entire honeymoon ?somehow? got pap?d too, which is weird considering Reese weeps mournful privacy tears when she?s photographed, even when she sells her wedding photos in America and the UK. I kind of wish she had stuck to her old image. Here are some highlights from the interview (full piece here):
Public speaking for Avon: ?I?m scared to speak in public,? she says. ?I?m really nervous about it. It?s weird, because on a movie set, I?m fine. But I get really nervous in front of crowds.? When she accepted this job [as Global brand ambassador for Avon] four years ago, she says, ?I used to shake when I talked at these conferences.?
Fears: ?I used to not ever travel,? she says, gazing out at the spires of Red Square. ?I?ve gotten over so many phobias. Five years ago, I was terrified to travel. I was scared to leave my kids.? She smiles. ?It?s still not the best feeling. But this is an opportunity to turn the spotlight on something that?s important to me.?
On confidence: ?I always had a lot of confidence when I was younger, and then I think I got a little nervous in my 20s,? she says. ?But now I feel better. Now I?m in my 30s, totally better. A little more confident again. Not as scared.?
The divorce from Ryan Phillippe: ?I was hard on myself when I got divorced. And until I got remarried, I don?t think I realized how stressed I was,? she says, referring to her marriage this past March to Hollywood talent agent Jim Toth. ?I feel so much relief. I don?t think I recognized how anxious I was about being a single parent. It was really, really stressful. It?s not easy on anybody. I think Nora Ephron says in one of her books, ?You know, don?t kid yourself, divorce is really hard on your children. It?s really hard. Children will not be better for it.?? Witherspoon reflects on that last statement. ?I mean, there are extenuating circumstances. I?m sure everybody?s life is different, so I shouldn?t say that. But it?s really traumatic. Now I feel a great sense of relief and an incredible amount of support from my husband.?
More on Jim Toth: ?You know, somebody close to me once said, ?Oh, no man will ever accept your children.? And I just thought it was the most horrifying thing someone has ever said to me in my entire life,? she says, a slight Southern lilt emerging. ?I was determined to find somebody who would make that not true. And I got lucky. I did. I got very lucky, and he?s wonderful. And so wonderful with the children. I?m very blessed.?
[From Marie Claire]
I don?t have any problems with this interview - she?s showing off her ?vulnerable? side, and I think she?s probably being very honest here, especially about her worries when she was a single mother. I think Reese is a good mom, but I?ve often wondered if she?s a bit too high-strung, a bit too tightly wound. What happens when something snaps?
Photos courtesy of Marie Claire.
Written by Kaiser
Posted in Reese Witherspoon
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22 Responses to ?Reese Witherspoon on Marie Claire: ?It?s really traumatic? being a single parent?
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Gawd, if SHE with her money and hired help had a hard time with being a single mother, is that really any consolation to the rest of the single mothers out there?
And WTF is this supposed to mean: ?You know, don?t kid yourself, divorce is really hard on your children. It?s really hard. Children will not be better for it.??
Say what? I think there are many children out there who ARE better for it, if the alternative is two parents staying together who hate each other or are abusive, one way or another. Normally I like her, but she sounds like she is very embarrassed to have gone through a divorce.
She does look great in these pics. I?ll give her that.
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Women like her have a problem. They can?t be learn to be complete or content on their own. A woman shouldn?t need a man to start living without ?trauma.? PERIOD. I?m don?t know if I?m more annoyed or more sorry for her.
Like Goopy, I?ll pull out a quote to seem like a total smart-ass, or just claim a ?dear? friend of mine said it: A woman needs a man, like a fish needs a bicycle.
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curleque: I don?t think she implying that its hard financially (at least not for her). its that she has 2 young children and has to raise them by herself. no one to struggle through raising children together, no one to be able to turn to. plus the feeling of failing in her marriage.
i love her. she?s just so pretty.
although I really didn?t like that recent movie she did (how do you know?). the movie could have been so good, but it just..wasn?t.
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I think ?traumatic? is a bit strong
yes it?s hard but made a lot easier if you can afford ?help?, know what I?m sayin?
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I like her, like her work with Avon, and I think she?s a good mother. I?m happy that she?s found someone to share her life with and who loves her children.
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I like Reese, but I can?t help but remember the comment that Michelle Williams made. I remember her saying that she was talking to Reese about how hard it was to be a single mother, and Reese basically told her to stop whining and just appreciate the fact that she?s financially stable. It seems kinda hypocritical of Reese to now be talking about how stressful it was to be a single mother. At least her children have a father who seems to be very hands-on, and she doesn?t have to raise her children alone.
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I know that Reese tried really hard to save her marriage I think she over manages everything and Ryan was threatened by her career and retaliated passive aggressively by cheating on her. I think she must be difficult to live with because she?s such a perfectionist and she has a rep as a snot. But I still like her.
@curleque please remember she?s quoting Nora Ephron. I think she means in cases where the kids don?t know about the problems in the marriage it?s devestating for kids to realize that mom and dad aren?t happy anymore. I loved what she said to Michelle Williams
?Yes, I understand, but think about how much more difficult this would be without the luxury of a reliable, steady income.?Anyone with that kind of insight has my respect.
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My parents divorce defiantly fu*ked me up. Of course it may have been better for them, but it was hard none the less. Certainly hard on my brother never having a male around. At least it seems Ryan visits his children. I certainly can understand what Reese said. The only thing that annoys me about Reese is her friendship with Chelsea which I know is more like a forced thing. So I like Reese.
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Ryan won?t be happy to hear she?s a single parent.
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Being a single parent is tough. Definitely. For me, not traumtic, but I know everyone isn?t the same. Regardless, this statement upsets me. She?s got endless means to take care of her child, so I don?t see how it was ?traumatic.?
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By quoting Ephron she is, in effect, agreeing with her. And money makes things easier for rich, divorced moms than the normal, everyday moms. Don?t kid yourselves.
Her problem is that she still can?t believe she?s divorced. She admitted it was very humbling, and now, that she is remarried and has a new man, all is better in the world according to Reese.
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@curleque I guess I didn?t make myself clear she said to Michele Williams that her tragic problems (raising her daughter completely alone without Heath)would be much more difficult without the the steady income so she herself admits it?s easier.
?Yes, I understand, but think about how much more difficult this would be without the luxury of a reliable, steady income.?
Does that sound like a woman who doesn?t appreciate the fact that being a movie star makes her life a lot easier to you?
@Anne Reese and Ryan are both single parents. All that means is each is divorced and raising them without a spouse not that the other parent isn?t involved in their lives.
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Reliable/steady different than rich. Just saying. And there is no comparison between divorce and death. Ridiculous for her to have every made ANY type of comment to Michelle Williams implying such. Reese is still riding that high horse.
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@Liz: She may be privileged, blonde, snippy and, to some, uninteresting, but ?not so smart? does not describe her at all. She is very bright, was accepted to Stanford but chose, instead, to pursue her acting career. She also is from Tennessee, not Texas.
I think Reese plays the PR game fairly well. Nothing overly scandalous or dramatic and she doesn?t oversaturate like Aniston. This allows her to stay relevant, even when her movies stink, without becoming a tabloid celebutard.
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As a single parent myself the only thing that I can say is that I have zero patience with monied women whining about single parentage. I get the two parent dilema. Its real. But when you are a single parent, money is much more than half the battle. Money isn?t everything until you dont have any. So its more than a little insulting for a multi millionairess to complain about being a single mama. Really sister? How about two jobs, no baby sitter, no health insurance and a dead beat dad? Sorry Reese, but you and I just broke upl
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Um, am I the only one who read the excerpt? She was saying that divorce was traumatic on the kids, not that being a single mom is traumatic. Reading comprehension fail?
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She is right- its hard to be a single parent - very hard! And divorce does affect kids negatively for the most part. Adults think because they are miserable their kids will see that and divorce will be better but young kids see it as them being the problem regardless of how many times you tell them its not.
Of course no one should stay in an abusive or loveless marriage BUT divorce will still affect your child regardless of the circumstances.
In the article Reese is saying divorce is traumatic for kids not being a single parent. The headliner is misleading. She isnt complaining that she doesnt have the money or help - she is simply stating single parenting regardless of your financial status is hard & its true. Rich or poor - single parenting is difficult. Yes money helps but it doesnt make it a emotional cake walk just because one has money.
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I didn?t read this to mean that she found it financially difficult to be a single parent. It sounds to me like she is talking about the emotional difficulties which any honest person would have to agree - are serious and deep.
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She is so honest. How refreshing to finally hear about something real that real women can relate to and discuss openly about a very touchy subject.
Note to all the Jen Garner and Angelina and the likes that only present a flat PR image and never really share the real side and the painful side of matters as a mother/ divorcee
And some of these pictures are her best ever. She looks beautiful.
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She Looks older
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Damn! Just because she has loads of money doesn?t make it a walk in the park for her! I?m so disgusted by people who respond with ?oh yeah, well you?re rich, how dare you complain?!? First of all, money does not dull pain. Second, you cannot BUY a partner in raising your kids. 10,000 perfect nannies do not equal a parent.
To the moms complaining about deadbeat dads and 2 jobs?try being a mother in war-torn Rwanda or Somalia with NO money,no husband, no family, no clean water for miles around, no one and no laws to protect you and your children from arbitrary rape, beating, killing?OKAY?? And believe me, your lifestyle is much closer to Reese?s that my fictional African single mother. So you?re not as rich as Reese but it could be much worse. Does that give anyone the right to invalidate your feelings and to tell you you have no right to complain?
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she bugs me. the same way privileged, blonde, not so smart, snippy, Texan and uninterestingly devoid girls bug me. (I?m from TX but moved faaar away to NYC and still see these kinds of girls around here who migrate here to ?omg - move to the big city where things will be fun!? )
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