Witherspoon got acquainted with the American actor Ryan Phillippe when celebrating her 21st birthday in March 1997; she said then to him “I think you’re my birthday present”. The couple got engaged in December 1998 and on June 5, 1999 they got married in Charleston, South Carolina at Wide Awake Plantation after the release of the box office hit Cruel Intentions. They have two children: a daughter Ava Elizabeth, born September 9, 1999, and a son Deacon Reese, born October 23, 2003. To be able to give enough attention to the children the couple alternated filming schedules for their films. Having lived 7 years together on October 2006 the couple announced their formal separation. The following month Witherspoon filed for divorce, saying the reason for that were irreconcilable differences.
