Reese Witherspoon and husband Jim Toth have reportedly been living “separate lives” as friends are growing increasingly more concerned about the future of their relationship. The couple recently celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary (wow, has it really been that long?!) but those close to them reportedly fear that they are drifting apart due to their very different lifestyles!
The 46-year-old Big Little Lies actress reportedly has a very busy schedule filled with both work and family commitments, while the 52-year-old Hollywood talent agent, according to a source who spoke to RadarOnline, “prefers a quieter existence,” and to remain out of the spotlight, which is why we don’t see them make as many red carpet appearances together as we would like. The insider claimed that Toth “likes to escape the noise,” adding, “The hecticness that surrounds Reese is a lot and sometimes too much to handle.” Yikes!
“Jim is hardly ever with her and it wasn’t always like that,” the source added. “Friends are worried that they’ve stopped putting the work in,” they continued, before going on to say that they can sometimes go days without talking, and when they do, it’s “usually about their son,” in reference to ten-year-old son Tennessee James Toth. A second source said that if the Oscar-winning actress does “free up time for him” in her busy schedule, “he disappears off to hang with his buddies.” They added: “There have definitely been – and are – issues in their marriage.”
This news might not come as a huge shock to those who know Reese and Jim, as there has reportedly been trouble in paradise for quite some time. Back in June, an unnamed insider told Us Weekly that the couple were living separate lives, but were putting on brave faces for the sake of their son. But even when they *were* together, they weren’t “very affectionate with each other.”
"They present as very cold and business-like," the source continued. "The passion is non-existent and they are living very separate lives. They’re a business partnership as much as a couple, and that’s why they’re so careful about their image right now." The source added that Reese's obsession with perfectionism hasn’t helped either. "She expects the best from everyone around her," they added. "It’s made her rich and famous. And people do take her seriously, but it can be exhausting to be around Jim."
The source also added that the Little Fires Everywhere star may not have been in a hurry to end things with Jim because of how great he is as a father, and also how he allegedly helps to improve her image. "Jim is a very hands-on dad to their son, and that’s really allowed Reese to take Hello Sunshine to the next level," the insider shared, in reference to Reese's production company. "Plus, Jim makes Reese more likable. People can relax around him, which has never really been the case when it’s just Reese on her own. She can be incredibly sharp and intimidating – and Jim softens her edges a lot."
Reese and Jim met at a mutual friend's house at the beginning of 2010, shortly after breaking up with Jake Gyllenhaal, and got engaged to him less than a year later. They tied the knot in 2011 at Reese's ranch in Ojai, California and had their first child together in September 2012. (Reese also has two children with first husband Ryan Phillipe – 23-year-old daughter Ava and 19-year-old son Deacon. Reese and Ryan got married in 1999 and finalized their divorce in 2008.)
Although the pair have mostly kept their relationship out of the spotlight, there were a few standout moments during their marriage. In 2016, the Morning Show actress credited her husband with inspiring her to create Hello Sunshine, telling Harper's Bazaar at the time that he told her: "You should produce movies. You read more books than anybody I know. You should just buy some of them and turn them into films."
