Reese Witherspoon opens up about mental health in wake of divorce

Reese Witherspoon has revealed she hasn’t been coping well over the past year, as she opened up for the first time amid her divorce.

Reese Witherspoon held back tears while speaking about her difficult year at an event in Los Angeles.

The Oscar-winning actress, 47, was a key panellist at a charity event hosted by Hello Sunshine – the media company she founded in 2016 – on Saturday.

While speaking onstage, Witherspoon gave rare insight into her private life amid her divorce from her husband of 12 years Jim Toth, which was announced on social media in March.

“I’ve been trying really hard to find balance outside of work,” Witherspoon began. “I’m a person who fills my schedule with busyness, so that I feel less alone or less nervous or less unsettled.

“[But] I started to realise that isn’t going to work for me. About a year ago, I was like … I was a robot and the robot broke. I cried and cried.”

Reese Witherspoon opened up about her difficult year at an event at the weekend.

The event was hosted by Witherspoon’s media company Hello Sunshine. Picture: Presley Ann/Getty Images for Hello Sunshine

Witherspoon then began waving her hands at her face in an attempt to fight tears.

“It actually makes me feel very vulnerable sharing that with you all,” she continued.

“But I think it’s important. We hold up so much for so many.

“My beautiful friend, Cleo Wade, just wrote this gorgeous poem … about the glue in people’s lives. And sometimes you are the glue in everybody’s life, whether it’s at work or being a mum or being a partner, but who is holding you together?”

Witherspoon said she “burst into tears” upon reading the poem, realising she wasn’t “taking very good care” of herself.

Jim Toth and Reese Witherspoon split after 12 years of marriage. Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Critics' Choice Awards

“I wasn’t asking other people for help,” she shared.

“I feel like I’ve learned a lot because I did the work – the hard work – in my early 20s, and reading every book and every self-help book and going to therapy and really trying to understand myself and forgive the parts of myself that were broken and the parts of myself where I felt like a failure, because it was a huge part of it.

“Instead of thinking of it as a failure, I think, ‘Gosh, I’ve learned so much from that moment.’ And I don’t blame others. I just reward myself for the hard things that little Reese went through.”

Witherspoon shares two children Ava, 24, and Deacon, 19, with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe.

She also shares one child with Toth, 11-year-old son Tennessee.

Reese Witherspoon announced her separation from husband Jim Toth in March.

Reese, Jim and children Ava, Deacon, and Tennessee.

News of Witherspoon’s split came as a surprise to fans, with no indication the couple were having difficulties.

The actress broke the news via Instagram earlier this year.

“We have some personal news to share. It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we have made the difficult decision to divorce,” she wrote.

“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.

“These matters are never easy and are extremely personal. We truly appreciate everyone’s respect for our family’s privacy at this time.”

Witherspoon officially filed for divorce a few weeks later in Davidson County, where “irreconcilable differences” was listed as the reason for their break-up.

Further, documents revealed Witherspoon and Toth signed a prenuptial agreement in March 2011 that was valid and will provide “adequate and sufficient provisions” for their assets and debts.

Originally published as Reese Witherspoon opens up about mental health in wake of divorce