The Relationship Journey of Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth: A Comprehensive Timeline

Reese Witherspoon and husband Jim Toth kept their relationship relatively low-key before their split.

The actress and the talent agent began dating in 2010 and became engaged soon after. They married in 2011 and welcomed son Tennessee the following year.

Witherspoon opened up about her first impression of Toth upon meeting him at a friend’s house. “It happened out of the blue,” she recalled in her February 2012 Elle cover story. “This really drunk guy was hitting on me, making such an idiot of himself, yelling at me. He was like, [slurring, scowling, pointing finger in her face] ‘You don’t know me.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I know. I don’t know you!’”

The Pennsylvania native stepped in to help the Oscar winner, which sparked their romance. “Jim came over and said, ‘Please excuse my friend. He’s just broken up with someone.’ Jim was a really good friend, pulling him out of that situation,” she gushed. “That’s just kind of who he is, a really good person.”

Witherspoon hinted in the May 2011 issue of Elle UK that she was not expecting to find her forever with Toth. “It’s an exciting feeling. [Somebody saying,] ‘You’re The One,’” she told the magazine. “And it’s a surprise. You know, I’m surprised when people who aren’t related to me see my movies. And you’re surprised somebody wants to be with you because, boy, I’ve got a lot of quirks and wrinkles.”

Prior to her relationship with Toth, the Big Little Lies alum was married to Ryan Phillippe from 1999 to 2008. The exes are parents of daughter Ava and son Deacon.

“I was so, so young. I was, like, ridiculously young,” Witherspoon, who was 23 at the time that she wed her Cruel Intentions costar, told Elle UK of her first marriage. “I learned a lot, though. It was an excellent opportunity for me to really find out what it means to be a partner and to be in a marriage and it’s not anything that I thought it was.”

After the Legally Blonde star made things official with Toth, Phillippe had only well-wishes for the twosome. “I’m very happy for both Reese and Jim,” he told the New York Daily News following their wedding. “I wish nothing but the best for the mother of my children.”

In March 2023, the pair announced their decision to part ways two days before their 12th wedding anniversary. “Our biggest priority is our son and our entire family as we navigate this next chapter,” they wrote in a social media statement at the time. “These matters are never easy and are extremely personal. We truly appreciate everyone’s respect for our family’s privacy at this time.”