Reese Witherspoon reportedly never saw herself getting another divorce, but a media narrative that’s emerged over the past week says she shouldn’t be surprised that her second marriage didn’t work out.
According to the tale being spun by the celebrity press, Witherspoon’s nearly 12-year marriage to Jim Toth couldn’t accommodate her success and suggests that she might have been busy putting her career ahead of her marriage.
“It’s a tale as old as time: Her success drove them apart,” Juliet Litman said while co-hosting The Ringer Dish podcast Monday. “It’s a nefarious narrative. … It’s very frustrating, because it takes away what she’s accomplished.”
The couple announced their divorce on March 24, and Witherspoon formally filed the paperwork on Monday in Davidson County, Tennessee, near their home in Nashville, Vanity Fair said. The actor and producer cited “irreconcilable differences” and said she and Toth would share custody of their 10-year-old son Tennessee. The document also said they had a prenuptial agreement.
The claims about the couple’s split are based in part on Witherspoon’s acknowledgement that she’s always been a competitive overachiever whose childhood nickname was “Little Miss Type A.” The narrative has also been fed by reports in People, Page Six and other outlets that she and Toth started spending less time together, because she was consumed with working on her various TV, film and fashion and lifestyle projects, including season 3 of her Apple TV+ series, “The Morning Show.”
As an Oscar-winning actor, Witherspoon made a name for herself playing what W magazine called “aggro-neurotic” blonde overachievers, such as Tracy Flick, Elle Woods and “Big Little Lies” Madeline Martha Mackenzie. In 2021, Witherspoon became rich beyond her dreams when her Hello Sunshine media company sold for more than $900 million in 2021, as Variety reported.
“She’s become so much more powerful than she was when they married and has expanded her areas of interest in so many ways,” a source told Page Six. Another source told People: “They are two very different people though. Reese is headstrong and focused. Although very hard-working, Jim is more laidback.” Yet another source said to People: “She has her hand in a lot of pots; he prefers less frenzy.”
One translation of these statements is that Witherspoon’s career started to take off in exciting and lucrative new directions in the 2010s, while Toth’s “remained flat,” with her success leading them to “grow apart,” as Litman said.
However, Toth also is said to be “driven,” given that he worked his way up from the mailroom at leading Hollywood talent agency CAA to become one of the company’s top executives before leaving in 2019, People said. At the same time, he’s said to be more “laid-back,” People noted.
The reported difference in their temperaments could be seen in the infamous 2013 dash cam video of Toth being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Atlanta, while an intoxicated Witherspoon refused to stay in the car and started an argument with the arresting officer. Among other things, Witherspoon yelled: “This is harassment. … I am an American citizen.”
While Toth quietly urged his wife to “relax” and not say anything, she said indignantly to the officer, who placed her into a patrol car: “I’m now being arrested and handcuffed? Do you know my name? You’re about to find out who I am.” Witherspoon later apologized for her “disrespectful” behavior with the officer.
Several years later, while Witherspoon’s fortunes were on the rise, Toth suffered a high-profile business setback after he left CAA to join Quibi, the short-form streaming platform. The video app folded just six months after its launch, losing nearly $2 billion and becoming a target of mockery. A source told Radar Online that Toth’s decision to join Quibi was “the beginning of the end of the couple,” The Blast reported.
“Leaving his position at CAA to join Quibi was a huge gamble,” the source told Radar. “At the time, Reese asked Jim if it was worth the risk.”
Toth and Witherspoon met in 2010, and married at a private ranch in California the following March. Together, they are parents to a 10-year-old son, Tennessee James. The “Sweet Home Alabama” star also shares two children with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe: Ava, 23, and Deacon, 19.
Litman’s Ringer Dish co-host Amanda Dobbins agreed that some might blame Witherspoon for the end of the marriage, but the same set of facts could point to Toth becoming less appealing to his wife.
“She’s a notoriously get-things-done kind of person,” Dobbins said. “She doesn’t have time to have an unemployed former agent sitting on her couch.”
It’s not clear whether Toth is in fact “unemployed,” but he doesn’t appear to have a full-time job, according to reports. He sits on the board of directors for a tech company, while another source told Page Six that he was “a big part of Hello Sunshine” – and therefore benefited from that $900 million sale.
A family friend told The Sun that “Jim is the one who has changed massively just in the last few years.” After he left CAA, his personality and “his whole take on life really changed,” the friend said.
“Call it a midlife crisis, if you want, but that’s when the tattoos, the chunky, weird jewelry and dressing like somebody half his age really took hold,” the friend continued.
After Quibi failed, Toth worked for Hello Sunshine as an adviser and investor. After the Hello Sunshine sale, both Toth and Witherspoon “had more money than either of them could ever figure out what to do with, and it was time to reassess,” the friend said.
One issue that may have needed reassessment is the idea, put forth by Page Six, that Witherspoon married Toth because he seemed like a “solid, dependable and stable guy.” His demeanor was refreshing after her turbulent marriage to Ryan Phillipe, whom she wed when they were both in their early 20s.
But since marrying Toth, the “spark” between him and Witherspoon has faded, with a source telling Page Six there’s “zero romance left.”
After the couple announced their divorce, friends of the couple insisted to People and other outlets that there was “no drama” between them. In a joint statement, Witherspoon and Toth said they reached the “difficult decision” to divorce after “a great deal of care and consideration.”
“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,” they said. They also emphasized that their “biggest priority is our son and our entire family as we navigate this next chapter.”
Reese Witherspoon reportedly never saw herself getting another divorce, but a media narrative that’s emerged over the past week says she shouldn’t be surprised that her second marriage didn’t work out.
According to the tale being spun by the celebrity press, Witherspoon’s nearly 12-year marriage to Jim Toth couldn’t accommodate her success and suggests that she might have been busy putting her career ahead of her marriage.
“It’s a tale as old as time: Her success drove them apart,” Juliet Litman said while co-hosting The Ringer Dish podcast Monday. “It’s a nefarious narrative. … It’s very frustrating, because it takes away what she’s accomplished.”
The couple announced their divorce on March 24, and Witherspoon formally filed the paperwork on Monday in Davidson County, Tennessee, near their home in Nashville, Vanity Fair said. The actor and producer cited “irreconcilable differences” and said she and Toth would share custody of their 10-year-old son Tennessee. The document also said they had a prenuptial agreement.
The claims about the couple’s split are based in part on Witherspoon’s acknowledgement that she’s always been a competitive overachiever whose childhood nickname was “Little Miss Type A.” The narrative has also been fed by reports in People, Page Six and other outlets that she and Toth started spending less time together, because she was consumed with working on her various TV, film and fashion and lifestyle projects, including season 3 of her Apple TV+ series, “The Morning Show.”
As an Oscar-winning actor, Witherspoon made a name for herself playing what W magazine called “aggro-neurotic” blonde overachievers, such as Tracy Flick, Elle Woods and “Big Little Lies” Madeline Martha Mackenzie. In 2021, Witherspoon became rich beyond her dreams when her Hello Sunshine media company sold for more than $900 million in 2021, as Variety reported.
“She’s become so much more powerful than she was when they married and has expanded her areas of interest in so many ways,” a source told Page Six. Another source told People: “They are two very different people though. Reese is headstrong and focused. Although very hard-working, Jim is more laidback.” Yet another source said to People: “She has her hand in a lot of pots; he prefers less frenzy.”
One translation of these statements is that Witherspoon’s career started to take off in exciting and lucrative new directions in the 2010s, while Toth’s “remained flat,” with her success leading them to “grow apart,” as Litman said.
However, Toth also is said to be “driven,” given that he worked his way up from the mailroom at leading Hollywood talent agency CAA to become one of the company’s top executives before leaving in 2019, People said. At the same time, he’s said to be more “laid-back,” People noted.
The reported difference in their temperaments could be seen in the infamous 2013 dash cam video of Toth being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Atlanta, while an intoxicated Witherspoon refused to stay in the car and started an argument with the arresting officer. Among other things, Witherspoon yelled: “This is harassment. … I am an American citizen.”
While Toth quietly urged his wife to “relax” and not say anything, she said indignantly to the officer, who placed her into a patrol car: “I’m now being arrested and handcuffed? Do you know my name? You’re about to find out who I am.” Witherspoon later apologized for her “disrespectful” behavior with the officer.
Several years later, while Witherspoon’s fortunes were on the rise, Toth suffered a high-profile business setback after he left CAA to join Quibi, the short-form streaming platform. The video app folded just six months after its launch, losing nearly $2 billion and becoming a target of mockery. A source told Radar Online that Toth’s decision to join Quibi was “the beginning of the end of the couple,” The Blast reported.
“Leaving his position at CAA to join Quibi was a huge gamble,” the source told Radar. “At the time, Reese asked Jim if it was worth the risk.”
Toth and Witherspoon met in 2010, and married at a private ranch in California the following March. Together, they are parents to a 10-year-old son, Tennessee James. The “Sweet Home Alabama” star also shares two children with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe: Ava, 23, and Deacon, 19.
Litman’s Ringer Dish co-host Amanda Dobbins agreed that some might blame Witherspoon for the end of the marriage, but the same set of facts could point to Toth becoming less appealing to his wife.
“She’s a notoriously get-things-done kind of person,” Dobbins said. “She doesn’t have time to have an unemployed former agent sitting on her couch.”
It’s not clear whether Toth is in fact “unemployed,” but he doesn’t appear to have a full-time job, according to reports. He sits on the board of directors for a tech company, while another source told Page Six that he was “a big part of Hello Sunshine” – and therefore benefited from that $900 million sale.
A family friend told The Sun that “Jim is the one who has changed massively just in the last few years.” After he left CAA, his personality and “his whole take on life really changed,” the friend said.
“Call it a midlife crisis, if you want, but that’s when the tattoos, the chunky, weird jewelry and dressing like somebody half his age really took hold,” the friend continued.
After Quibi failed, Toth worked for Hello Sunshine as an adviser and investor. After the Hello Sunshine sale, both Toth and Witherspoon “had more money than either of them could ever figure out what to do with, and it was time to reassess,” the friend said.
One issue that may have needed reassessment is the idea, put forth by Page Six, that Witherspoon married Toth because he seemed like a “solid, dependable and stable guy.” His demeanor was refreshing after her turbulent marriage to Ryan Phillipe, whom she wed when they were both in their early 20s.
But since marrying Toth, the “spark” between him and Witherspoon has faded, with a source telling Page Six there’s “zero romance left.”
After the couple announced their divorce, friends of the couple insisted to People and other outlets that there was “no drama” between them. In a joint statement, Witherspoon and Toth said they reached the “difficult decision” to divorce after “a great deal of care and consideration.”
“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,” they said. They also emphasized that their “biggest priority is our son and our entire family as we navigate this next chapter.”