Reese Witherspoon Opens Up About Experiencing 'Really Bad' Postpartum Depression as a Young Mom: ‘I Cried All the Time'
- - Reese Witherspoon Opens Up About Experiencing 'Really Bad' Postpartum Depression as a Young Mom: ‘I Cried All the Time'
Latoya GayleNovember 3, 2025 at 5:51 AM
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Reese Witherspoon/Instagram
Reese Witherspoon with her kids Ava, Tennessee, and Deacon -
Reese Witherspoon reflected on how she handled postpartum depression after the birth of her first child in a new exclusive interview with Harper's Bazaar
"I just cried all the time, I was up all night, I was exhausted," she recalled to the outlet
The actress has three children: Ava Philippe, 26, Deacon Philippe, 22 and Tennessee James Toth, 13
Reese Witherspoon is looking back on how she handled postpartum depression after being warned by her mom that the mental health condition could be genetic.
The actress, 49, shares two children — daughter Ava Philippe, 26, and son Deacon Philippe, 22 — with her ex-husband Ryan Phillipe. She also has a son, Tennessee James Toth, 13, with her ex-husband Jim Toth. While speaking to U.K. publication Harper's Bazaar, Witherspoon recalled the history of depression in her family.
She said her mom had depression and feared it could be genetic. Witherspoon then experienced depression for herself as a teenager and after the birth of her daughter Ava in 1999, when she was just 23.
"It was really bad," Witherspoon told Harper’s Bazaar in their Dec/Jan issue. "In the first six months, I was simultaneously happy and depressed. I just cried all the time, I was up all night, I was exhausted.”
Ava Phillippe Instagram
Reese Witherspoon and her daughter, Ava Phillippe
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The Legally Blonde star said she wasn’t prepared for how her hormones would be affected by giving birth, and when she stopped nursing six months later.
“It’s hard being a young mom,” she said, adding that she was "overwhelmed" by people giving their opinions on how to look after her baby. Witherspoon said a good friend encouraged her to seek help amid her struggle with postpartum depression.
"I had the connections and the means to get to a doctor, a mental-health specialist, but a lot of people don’t,” she told the outlet. “They struggle on their own and hide it.”
Theo Wargo/Getty
Reese Witherspoon
The Big Little Lies star, who is also the founder of media company Hello Sunshine, is set to receive the Cultural Icon award at the Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year Awards 2025.
She believes that having “so much anxiety” has helped her achieve her career success.
“I stressed myself out in service of my job, and it got me really, really far,” Witherspoon told the publication. “I’m rewarded for my anxiety and perfectionism. But I’m getting older, and am starting to relax into the idea that I’m enough.
“I mean, I’ve had an abundance of good fortune, great work opportunities and worked with some of the greatest people on Earth,” she concluded.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
