Celebrity Reese Witherspoon Reese Witherspoon Said She "Did Not Have a Lot of Support" After the Birth of Her Daughter Ava "This is not going to work." By Tessa Petak Tessa Petak Instagram Tessa Petak is a Brooklyn-based writer who helps to cultivate InStyle's illustrious news coverage across a wide range of topics including celebrity, fashion, and entertainment. She also produces and composes celebrity profiles and features for the site and InStyle's digital issues. InStyle's editorial guidelines Published on August 31, 2021 @ 10:45AM Pin Share Tweet Email Reese Witherspoon is getting super candid about past relationships and raising kids with ex Ryan Phillippe. During an episode of the "Armchair Expert" podcast with Kristen Bell and Monica Padman, the Legally Blonde actress opened up about the challenges that came along with having her first baby, daughter Ava Phillippe. "I did not have a lot of support with my first baby, and I learned really early, like this is not going to work," she recalled. The actress and Phillippe, her then-husband, welcomed Ava in 1999 and later welcomed son Deacon in 2003. The pair separated in 2006. She added that the sleeping schedule of a baby was quite challenging and demanding saying she tried to "muscle through for five months with Ava, just not sleeping and I became delirious." Witherspoon's hit movie Cruel Intentions was released the same year Ava was born, so the actress was able to support herself without going right back to work. Reese Witherspoon and Her Kids Look Like Triplets in a New Family Photo "I was lucky enough to have money saved and I didn't have to work," she explained. "But it's just not a one-person job. I would even say it's not a two-person job." After finalizing her divorce from Phillippe in 2008, Witherspoon married her current husband Jim Toth, and the couple welcomed their son Tennessee in 2012.