Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe Marriage Profile

Your marriage has to remain a high priority in your lives. Although initially in their marriage it appeared that both Reese and Ryan placed their marriage over their careers, problems surfaced, the couple formally separated on October 30, 2006. Their divorce was finalized on June 12, 2008.

Read more about Reese and Ryan's courtship, wedding, and their thoughts about marriage.

6/12/08: The Witherspoon/Phillippe divorce was finalized.

5/15/07: A petition filed by Ryan Phillippe requests equal visitation rights and joint legal and physical custody of their children.

11/08/06: Reese Witherspoon filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court. Irreconcilable differences was named as the reason for the divorce.
Read Phillippe's statement concerning their divorce.

Matthew Ryan Phillippe: New Castle, Delaware on September 10, 1974.

Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon: Baton Rouge, Louisiana on March 22, 1976.

Reese's birthplace and name confusion: Baton Rouge, New Orleans, or Nashville, Tennessee? The Marquis Who's Who lists Baton Rouge and their marriage license application lists Louisiana as her birth state. The spelling of her middle name "Jeanne" is as listed on Reese and Ryan's marriage license application.
Source: Charleston County

Ryan and Reese met at her 21st birthday party on March 22, 1997. He wasn't sure he was invited, but went to the party anyway for some free beer.

Although they were interested in one another right from the start and talked with one another a great deal at the party, Ryan left the next morning to work on a film.

They kept in touch by letter writing and phone calls. Their first date was about 5 weeks after they first met.

While on vacation, Ryan proposed to Reese in December, 1998 at The Planter's Inn in Charleston, South Carolina. The ring he gave her is a very rare early 1990s Neil Lane, four-carat Asscher-cut-diamond platinum ring.

Wedding Info:

Ryan was 24, and Reese was 23 when they were married on June 5, 1999 at the Wide Awake Plantation beside a river near Charleston, South Carolina.

Reese and Ryan have two children.

• Ava Elizabeth Phillippe: Born in 1999.
• Deacon Phillippe: Born in 2003.

Residence:

With her two children, Reese moved to Charleston, South Carolina in December 2006.

Reese is an actress and producer. She collects antique lines and old embroidery.

Ryan is an actor and producer. His hobbies include writing, drawing cartoons, listening to Frank Sinatra, and photography.

They have three dogs: a Chihuahua (Chi Chi Rodriguez), an English bulldog, and a French bulldog.

Reese: "Family is all we have in life, but I don't know how I feel about marriage. Obviously, I'm not far enough out of being married to think about doing it again. You sort of reconstitute your family. You find a family with people who come into your life for a reason."
Source: Beth Perry. "Reese Witherspoon Wary of Marrying Again." People.com. 11/20/2008

Ryan about the divorce with Witherspoon: "It's devastating, but the bottom line is the focus is on the children, and they're doing amazingly well and that's really all that matters."
Source: People.com

Ryan about couples therapy, 2002: "The biggest mistake is not doing that, ignoring it and having the marriage fall apart because of laziness."
Source: People.com

Reese, about Ryan: "I'm lucky to find a person to share my life, and the best friend I'll ever have...I don't think I can imagine a better guy than the one I've ended up with."
Source: IMDB.com

Ryan, about Reese: "The person I trust most in this world is Reese, definitely. She's that pure-hearted a person, and that honest. And I would never suspect her of any wrong ... Things like my baby and my wife are a lot more important to me than being in one of the top ten grossing movies of all time."
Source: IMDB.com

Ryan Phillippe on keeping mystery in marriage: "I'd never write anything off completely, but I just feel like there's something to be said for the individuality and mystery of doing things on your own."
Source: People.com

Ryan Phillippe on Life and Family: “Home life’s great, man. The kids are great, happy and healthy. I’ve reached this sort of wonderful precipice. I’ve been in this business for a long time at my age, I’ve just turned 30, and I feel like my wife’s career is going incredibly well, my kids are happy and healthy in schools, we’ve both been able to buy a house for our parents, respectively, in the places they live. And now I’m ready to work on my stuff, my career. I feel like everything’s taken care of. I’m just in a really good place.”
Source: Movies.about.com

Reese, about dual careers and marriage: "Marriage and family come before everything. You don't want to make a movie at the cost of your relationship."
Source: Us Weekly, September 6, 2004, page 47.