Reese Witherspoon’s Marriage:
ENDLESS WORK COMMITMENTS AND PARENTAL DEMANDS, PLUS A PERFECTION COMPLEX, ARE DRIVING A RIFT WITH HUBBY JIM TOTH.
On the Brink of Collapse: The Big Little Lies star has been putting her children and career ahead of husband Jim Toth — and may soon give her an ultimatum.
REESE Witherspoon seems, to outside eyes, perfect. Perky, together, approachable, she appears to be a mashup of the best parts of Big Little Lies’ queen bee Madeline and Legally Blonde’s cheery, ambitious Elle Woods, sipping whiskey in a teacup and effortlessly adapting novels and winning Oscars. But beneath that Superwoman exterior, sources say, the star is actually on the verge of imploding from stress. And the pressure — from many areas in her life — could be leading to a fracture in her marriage. “Reese is the most cool, calm and collected woman you’ll ever meet, ordinarily,” says a source. “But lately, a few things have been getting the best of her, and she feels like she’s about to crack.”
“NOTHING LEFT” FOR HER HUSBAND Reese is at the peak of her professional life, killing it in myriad platforms. But just when she should be on top of the world, she’s feeling personally vulnerable, particularly in her relationship with her husband, Hollywood agent Jim Toth. “It’s pretty widely known that she’s having trouble in her marriage,” a friend confides. “They’ve been on the ropes ever since Jennifer Aniston’s birthday party back in February, when Reese got so steaming drunk that Jim left without her.” But booze really isn’t the issue, the friend suggests — time is. Reese is “so all-consumed with the other things in her life, especially her work and her kids, there’s really nothing left for Jim.” Reese’s to-do list is infinite: being mom to three children (Ava and Deacon, whom she shares with ex Ryan Phillippe, and Tennessee, her son with Jim); producing and starring in films and series like Big Little Lies and Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere, along with a zillion other projects in development by her production company, Hello Sunshine; overseeing retail fashion and home-goods lines; and being actively involved in philanthropy and activism in Hollywood. What downtime?! Jim has “put up with being second and even third best for a year or so now, and he’s told friends he’s not sure how much longer it can go on like this,” a tipster shares. Reese is aware of the issues, the source says, but “she’s simply so busy she doesn’t know how to fix it.”
DETERMINED TO BE PERFECT
The news that Big Little Lies — despite its mega popularity — won’t have a season 3 has particularly stung the producer-actress at an already difficult time, sources say. The show was “Reese’s baby, and she threw everything she had into it,” says someone close to the series. “When she got the news that they were done after season 2, she had a bit of a breakdown. She was so down about it, she felt all her hard work was for nothing.” And Reese doesn’t deal with rejection or disappointment well, a source says — so the BLL setback was crippling. “Reese is all-or-nothing, and things must always go according to her plan,” says a source. “Right now, there are a few things out of her control, because she’s taken on too much. Friends are worried she’s at a breaking point. Anyone would be.”