Ryan Phillippe has always prided himself on his positive co-parenting relationship with former wife, Reese Witherspoon, as they’ve raised their kids Ava and Deacon, 21, following their 2006 split.
“We were always united in support of them,” Ryan, 50, says of Reese. “They’re both adults but she and I have a friendship and we still have calls about various things in their lives.”
Now Ryan is calling on Reese for help in mending his relationship with Ava.
FAMILY FALLOUT
According to a Hollywood insider, Ryan and Ava, 25, have been estranged for five years.
Things reportedly soured between the pair after his ex-girlfriend Elsie Hewitt accused him of throwing her down the stairs, and sued him for assault in 2017 – allegations Ryan denied.
“Ava shut him out after he settled the claims out of court. She started to see him differently – he wasn’t this kind of hero who worshipped her any more,” the source tells Woman’s Day.
“She has girlfriends who’ve gone through terrible situations, some even worse, and she’s seen how much it can break someone. She has zero tolerance for it and Ryan did very little to change her mind.”
But Ryan – who once declared he only “learned what love truly is” when Ava was born in 1999 and who celebrated his sobriety and “breaking addictions and dependency on substance” in 2023 – is convinced all hope isn’t lost.
And now he’s desperate for Reese to step in and try and help him get his baby girl back.
“But she simply can’t,” says a source of the 49-year-old Big Little Lies star. “As much as she’d love for her daughter to have a supportive and functional relationship with her dad, it’s not up to her to play mediator all the time. They’re both adults now and she’s not about to put any more pressure on Ava than there already is.”
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE
Ava, who’s even unfollowed her dad on Instagram while he still follows her, thinks Ryan’s behind their feud being made public.
“The fact it’s out in the open has made Ava more determined to stay away from him because she’s convinced he must have leaked it to try and shame her into contacting him,” adds the insider of the budding star, who made her acting debut on TV series Doctor Odyssey last month.
“It’s a nightmare because Reese has Deacon to consider too. Deacon’s keeping well away from the situation and has told Ava he’s not taking sides. He’s a lot more hopeful that this will mend itself over time, but for now he’s laying low, just like his mum.”
A future Phillippe family reunion seems even more unlikely, given Ava’s so keen to distance herself from her dad. She’s considering dropping his name too!
“Ava wants to ‘do a Brangie bunch’ and change her last name to Witherspoon,” the source tells Woman’s Day. “She’s always hated not having the same name as her mum and now she’s ready to build up a career of her own, she doesn’t think it should be with her dad’s name.”
According to the Hollywood insider, while Ava puts on a tough front about her daddy issues “deep down, part of her will always crave Ryan’s adoration – and he totally had her on a pedestal most of her life”.
“Reese is heartbroken for Ava. She wishes she could fix it but respects Ava’s choice,” adds the source. “She and Ryan set aside their issues years ago, but she thought he’d let Ava down like this.”
