Reese Witherspoon’s dramatic fall from grace
Fights, falls and flowing flutes... the Big Little Lies star’s wild ways are taking a toll on her marriage
It’s a situation familiar to many married couples – one of you wants to leave the party early, and for the other it’s just getting started. But for Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth, their tiff over when it was time to head home from Jennifer Aniston’s raucous 50th birthday bash might have been the final straw for their marriage.
Woman’s Day can reveal our witness saw Jim ditch the Sunset Tower party in
LA in “a definite huff” long before his wife of seven years, leaving her to hit the open bar without him.
Several hours later, when Reese tottered out in her sky-high black heels as the party was coming to a close, the 42-yearold actress was seen by many onlookers falling down the stairs.
“She laughed it off,” says our eyewitness. “But she’d definitely overdone it with the booze. She was waving like the Queen as she was helped into a car.”
A SOBERING RETURN
Fast-forward four days and Reese was seen again – looking decidedly more sober and less sheepish. Photographers spotted the Big Little Lies star out for her usual morning run in LA, but this time, she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring, which is usually on her ring finger at all times.
“She wasn’t looking her usual well-groomed self, either,” an onlooker tells Woman’s Day.
“It was as though she was tired, or just couldn’t be bothered with the run that day.”
And insiders say her strained appearance came after a tense exchange with Jim after Jen’s party.
‘Reese says she works hard and deserves to let her hair down’
“No doubt there would have been some terse words in the Witherspoon-toth household after that party,” our Hollywood source says. “They both love a drink but lately Jim’s been making an effort to not go as hard, whereas Reese still parties like it’s 1999!
“There’s talk that Jim feels it’s setting a bad example, especially given the kids – Ava, 19, Deacon, 16, and Tennessee, six – are getting old enough to know what their mum gets up to.
“Reese argues that she works hard and deserves to let her hair down and everyone else loves her because she’s the life of the party.”
The Aniston party incident follows months of media reports that Reese and her 49-year-old high-powered talent agent husband were struggling to keep their marriage afloat, with Reese throwing herself into several career pursuits.
PRIORITIES
“In the past couple of years she’s written a book, filmed on location in Monterey for Big Little Lies for several months at a time, and she’s producing and starring in yet another show,” says our source.
“Jim has slipped a little down the priorities list, and he’s really not OK with it. In a way, they’ve grown apart. Reese still loves to party and pulls the energy out of nowhere, whereas Jim doesn’t have it in him any more.
“It’s probably too early to start suggesting divorce is imminent, but there’s no doubt they need to somehow figure out a happy medium between work, party and home life… and soon.
“Going by Jim’s face as he left the party at Sunset Tower last week, his patience is running out fast.”