Reese Witherspoon is opening up about the real-life balancing act behind her glittering Hollywood career and raising three children and it turns out, even Oscar winners have moments of exhaustion, tech mishaps, and messy schedules.
The Legally Blonde star took to Instagram on Thursday, August 14, to share a candid look at the highs and lows of juggling motherhood with a demanding acting career. The post featured a carousel of throwback photos capturing everything from cozy family moments in movie trailers to lighthearted text exchanges with her kids.
Witherspoon is mom to Ava and Deacon whom she shares with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, and Tennessee whom she shares with ex-husband Jim Toth. In her post, she answered a question she said she’s often asked: what does raising three kids while building a Hollywood career look like?
“It looked like spending a lot of time in trailers together,” she wrote alongside a photo of herself and a young Tennessee hanging out behind the scenes of a project.
Another image of a car selfie with Ava and Deacon during their younger years was captioned, “It looked like they were always being on the road together.”
In one of the more humorous slides, Witherspoon posted a screenshot of a text conversation with Deacon, in which he teased her for accidentally starting an Instagram Live by “butt-dialing” the feature. “It looked like my kids were constantly giving me career advice,” she joked.
But amid the smiles and lighthearted moments, Witherspoon didn’t shy away from admitting that the experience could be grueling.
“It looked really hard sometimes. I’d cry working 14 to 17 hours, sometimes all night long and still woke up early for carpool. I was deliriously tired,” she confessed.
Despite the fatigue, the Big Little Lies actress said she always tried to keep a positive tone when speaking about her work at home. “It looked like trying to say something positive about work when I got home at night. So my kids would know that my work was meaningful to me and could be fun!”
She concluded her post with a heartfelt reflection: “In conclusion, even though it was challenging at times, having kids gave me perspective about what was important in life. Nothing was better than getting to come home and hug them and hear about their day!”
The post quickly drew a wave of support from fans, many praising the actress for her honesty about the often-unseen struggles of working mothers.
“This is like a breath of fresh air no one ever shares this,” wrote one follower.
Another commented, “You were bringing home the bacon and raising two beautiful children. Doing it all. I call that a mighty strong woman.”
Others kept their praise short but heartfelt, calling Witherspoon an “amazing mom” and an inspiration to women navigating both career ambitions and parenting duties.
Witherspoon’s post joins a growing conversation about the realities faced by working mothers even those with A-list careers and her openness served as a reminder that behind the glamorous red carpets and movie premieres, family remains at the heart of her story.