Reese Witherspoon can hardly believe that her youngest son, Tennessee, is a teenager.
“How is it possible that my youngest boy is 13?!” Witherspoon, 49, wrote via Instagram on Friday, September 26. “He never ceases to amaze me with his joyfulness, his brilliant sense of humor and his endless curiosity. I love you so much, Tenn 💙.”
Witherspoon uploaded a photo of herself and Tennessee, whom she shares with ex-husband Jim Toth, posing on a balcony overlooking a body of water. The Morning Show actress sported a black, polka-dot sundress as her son wore a blue button-down with a pair of khakis and a bleached-blond buzz cut.
Witherspoon’s celebrity friends were also in awe that her youngest, who was nearly as tall as his famous mom, is 13.
While Reese Witherspoon has an expansive résumé, she touts parenthood as one of her greatest achievements. The Legally Blonde star first became a mother in September 1999, welcoming daughter Ava with then-husband Ryan Phillippe. The duo — who were married between 1999 and 2006 — then welcomed son Deacon in October 2003. Thank You! You […]
“How are the [sic] teenagers?!?” Sarah Michelle Gellar, who shares two teens with husband Freddie Prinze Jr., wrote in the Instagram comments section.
Goldie Hawn, for her part, gushed over Tennessee’s “joyful face” in her own reply.
Outlander star Sophie Skelton had a message for Witherspoon herself, writing, “Happy 13 years of being a mum too.”
Witherspoon and Toth, a talent agent, agreed to amicably coparent Tennessee following their divorce. They were married from 2011 to 2023.
“We have some personal news to share … It is with a great discount of care and consideration that we have made the difficult decision to divorce,” the today-exes wrote in a joint Instagram statement in March 2023. “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.”
They concluded, “Our biggest priority is our son and our entire family as we navigate this next chapter. These matters are never easy and are extremely personal. We truly appreciate everyone’s respect for our family’s privacy at this time.”
In addition to Tennessee, Witherspoon shares daughter Ava, 26, and son Deacon, 21, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe.
“There was so much I didn’t know,” Witherspoon recalled of being a young parent during a recent appearance on The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast. “And maybe that naïveté was good, because it’s like, ‘Oh, I’ll just do that and have a career.’ And I did have a few people say to me, ‘This is going to be really hard on your career.’”
The juggle was real for Reese Witherspoon when it came to balancing her Hollywood career and family life. Taking to Instagram on Thursday, August 14, Witherspoon candidly shared what it was like to raise her three kids, Ava, 25, Deacon, 21, and Tennessee, 12, while maintaining her successful acting career. (Witherspoon shares Deacon and Ava […]
She continued, “There were roles I couldn’t take. I had to have this immediate balance of family and career, being a mom and being a working actress. That’s why it was also scary when Legally Blonde became such a big anthem. I wasn’t going to beg for parts; parts were coming to me. And that almost made it scarier, because I wasn’t picking and choosing what I would reach and strive for. It was more like, what will I not do?”
Witherspoon, who was 23 when she gave birth to Ava just two years before filming Legally Blonde, has since found her motherhood journey shift as her kids get older.
“It is about honesty. First of all, you know, you’re managing them a lot when they’re little. It is very physical,” Witherspoon previously said during an October 2022 appearance on the Today show. “And then, it is more emotional support and suggestions — not telling them what to do when they get a little bit older. But you have to really nurture your adult relationships with your children, too, and give them respect and space to become who they are and not who you want them to be.”
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