After divorcing from her husband of seven years, the 38-year-old actress' brain was like "scrambled eggs," therefore her career took a big hit.
Reese Witherspoon has been daring enough to try new projects in her career, especially since she has starred in a number of box office flops in recent years, but during the height of her success - winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for 2005's Walk the Line, the 38-year-old actress' personal life began to unravel.
Witherspoon's career withered after her divorce
During a new interview with Charlie Rose, which aired on '60 Minutes' on Sunday (Dec 21st), Witherspoon opened up about her rollercoaster career, in which she went from being considered a leading Hollywood actress to a falling star, all while her 7-year marriage to her 'Cruel Intentions' co-star Ryan Philipe fell apart.
"Phew, that was a tough year that followed," she told Rose about the twelve months after winning an Oscar. "I got divorced the next year and I spent a few years just trying to feel better." The former couple, who share daughter Ava, 15, and son Deacon, 11, split amidst rumours that Phillippe cheated with Australian star Abbie Cornish.
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"You know, you can't really be very creative when you feel like your brain is scrambled eggs," she continued. "I was just kind of floundering career-wise cause I wasn't making things I was passionate about, I was just kinda working. It was really clear the audiences weren't responding to anything I was putting out there."
In the following years Weatherspoon starred in several rom-coms that were considered financial disappointments such as 'How Do You Know' and 'This Means War.' The actress' "floundering" movie roles were harshly criticized, especially in a 2012 New Yorker piece that named her amongst stars who were no longer box office draws.
More: Reese Witherspoon Aims To Unite Film And Feminism With 'Wild'
"I thought I was reading a profile on another actor, and somewhere at the end it said, you know, the people who are washed up, and at the end it included me, Tom Hanks, Mel Gibson," she explained to Rose. "It really hurt my feelings, really hurt my feelings."
Witherspoon's career is now back on track as she stars in the critically acclaimed 'Wild,' a drama based on Cheryl Strayed's memoir 'Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.'
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