Just two days before actress Reese Witherspoon and her husband, actor and producer Jim Toth, were to celebrate a dozen years of marital bliss, the couple took to Instagram and announced they were splitting up.
“We have some personal news to share…” the duo said in a joint Saturday statement on Witherspoon’s Instagram account. “It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we have made the difficult decision to divorce.”
“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. “Our biggest priority is our son and our entire family as we navigate this next chapter.”
Witherspoon and Toth share a 10-year-old son, Tennessee.
“These matters are never easy and are extremely personal,” the couple continued. “We truly appreciate everyone’s respect for our family’s privacy at this time.”
But “everyone” isn’t respecting their privacy.
An anonymous “friend and colleague” ran to the U.S. Sun claiming the “uncoupling” began years ago, and Toth’s “midlife crisis” was behind the breakup.
Even the nearly $1 billion sale of their production company, Hello Sunshine, could not save them.
“This process of uncoupling really began in late 2021 when it became clear to everybody who knew both of them that they were itching for life apart from each other, even though they were both celebrating the massive success of the Hello Sunshine sale to Candle Media and the hundreds of millions of dollars they personally realized from the deal,” the source told the tabloid.
Tennessee, the friend said, was the glue that was holding them together.
“That money was rocket fuel to them,” the source explained, “but it sent them in different directions and pretty quickly after that deal closed, the only real common ground they had was the raising of their son, Tennessee. Even when Reese and Jim couldn’t see eye to eye about anything, they are very dedicated co-parents and that shouldn’t change even if Jim has to change zip codes, which is very likely now.”
According to the chatty confidant, “Jim is the one who has changed massively just in the last few years.”
Considered an admired leader at Hollywood’s powerhouse Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Toth quit the company five years ago, and things went downhill from there.
“Jim just isn’t the guy Reese married and had a son with anymore,” the friend dished. “His personality, his attitude and his whole take on life really changed when he got out of the agency business and decided he was tired of that stuffy world and being in the service business in general.”
“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 source said.
After a short stint at failed streaming service, Quibi, Toth began working as an advisor and investor at Hello Sunshine.
“It led to the company’s sale and for a real gut check moment for him and Reese – they now had more money than either of them could ever figure out what to do with, and it was time to reassess,” the family friend explained. “This divorce is the result of that process…”
“They’ve been heading in different directions for a couple of years now,” the source said, “and a divorce simply makes that official.”
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