The actress gave birth at 23 in 1999.
Reese Witherspoon has opened up about her past struggles as a first-time mother after her daughter Ava was born in September, 1999.
Speaking on the
We Are Supported By... podcast, the actress revealed she "became delirious" during the first few months of motherhood, when she was just 23, due to a lack of sleep and support.
“I did not have a lot of support with my first baby and I learned really early, like, this is not going to work,” the
Big Little Lies star told hosts Kristen Bell and Monica Padman.
“I tried to muscle through for five months with Ava, just not sleeping, and I became delirious.”
During the episode, the 45-year-old said she “couldn’t have worked” while Ava, now almost 22, was just a few months old.
“I was lucky enough to have money saved and I didn’t have to work, but it’s just not a one-person job,” Reese continued. “I would even say it’s not a two-person job.”
The
Legally Blonde icon shares Ava and 17-year-old son Deacon with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe.
The two actors co-starred in
Cruel Intentions and married in June 1999, three months prior to Ava's birth. The couple later split in 2006, finalising their divorce in 2008.
Reese previously opened up about their marriage during an interview on ITV’s
Lorraine in 2017. She said that while she “would never change anything” about her life, she told her daughter that it's better to get to know yourself first.
I got married when I was 23 and I had two kids by the time I was 27,” she said at the time. “I don’t know, sometimes it’s good to know yourself [first].”
