Reese

The Hollywood star is reeling after her ex-husband is accused of domestic violence and drug use

Fears for kids

Reese Witherspoon was the picture of Hollywood glamour as she swept the board for Big Little Lies at the Emmy awards last week. But just hours later the Oscar winner and mother-of-three was left reeling as reports surfaced her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe has been accused of physically assaulting his former girlfriend, 21-year-old Guess model Elsie Hewitt.

The accusations will likely be deeply concerning for Reese, 41, who shares two children with Ryan – Ava, 18, and 13-year-old Deacon – and will have their welfare at the forefront of her mind.

According to leaked court documents, the alleged attack happened on July 4 when Elsie – who is now suing Ryan for $1.25 million – says she went to pick up her possessions from his LA apartment, after their four-month relationship had ended.

She claims the actor was “discernibly drunk and high” and quickly became aggressive, shouting: “Get the f*** out of my house you crazy c**t.”

Elsie’s suit states: “He allegedly grabbed Hewitt’s upper arm so tightly his grip left heavy bruises hours later. He then braced his body and violently threw her down his staircase as hard as he could.”

The model, who has posed for Playboy, claims Ryan was growing increasingly “infatuated” with her and accuses him of “repeatedly abusing a panoply of legal and illegal drugs, including without limitation: cocaine, ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms and steroids.”

While a temporary restraining order was filed against Ryan, he was not arrested and has since released a statement on Twitter asserting all allegations are false. “As a man, raised by women, in a [home where] women’s rights and advocacy were very much at the forefront, I am sickened my name can be found in any article where domestic violence of any kind is being alleged.”

While Reese – who is now married to Jim Toth, with whom she shares five-year-old son Tennessee – is yet to publicly comment on the claims, friends believe she’d be terrified about the impact Ryan’s court case will have on her children.

In the past she has spoken about her attempts to maintain a “civil relationship” with her ex.

“My ex-husband is very involved in raising our beautiful children. We’re very lucky because we both grew up in middle America. We’re on the same page that way,” she has said. “I’m teaching the children what we were taught growing up – a real set of rules, discipline and love.”