Reese Witherspoon Reveals the Reality of Raising Kids in Hollywood: ‘I’d Cry Working 14 to 17 Hours’

The juggle was real for Reese Witherspoon when it came to balancing her Hollywood career and family life.

Taking to Instagram on Thursday, August 14, Witherspoon candidly shared what it was like to balance raising her three kids, Ava, 25, Deacon, 21, and Tennessee, 12, with her high-powered acting career. (Witherspoon shares Deacon and Ava with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe and Tennessee with ex-husband Jim Toth.)

The Legally Blonde star, 49, shared a carousel of throwback photos and shared her parenting challenges.

“Someone asked me what raising three kids and building a Hollywood career looked like…” she began.

“It looked like spending a lot of time in trailers together,” she wrote alongside a photo of herself with Tennessee hanging out in a trailer.

Sharing a car selfie with Deacon and Ava when they were younger, the Big Little Lies star added, “It looked like always being on the road together.”

In a more humorous slide, the actress shared a screenshot of a text exchange between herself and Deacon. In the message, he texted her about a tech mishap, pointing out that Witherspoon had “butt-dialled an Instagram Live.”

She captioned the slide, “It looked like my kids constantly giving me career advice.”

As well as the more light-hearted moments of parenting while also building her career, Witherspoon admitted it could be a struggle.

“It looked really hard sometimes. I’d cry working 14 to 17 hours, sometimes all night long and still woke up early for carpool. I was deliriously tired,” she confessed.

She added, “It looked like trying to say something positive about work when I got home at night. So my kids would know that my work was meaningful to me and could be fun!”

Summing up in the final slide, Witherspoon surmised that despite the difficulties, it was all worth it.

“In conclusion, even though it was challenging at times, having kids gave me perspective about what was important in life,” she wrote. “Nothing was better than getting to come home and hug them and hear about their day!”

Followers flocked to Witherspoon’s comment section to applaud the working mom for her openness and hard work.

“This is like a breath of fresh air no one ever shares this,” wrote one follower.

Another added, “You were bringing home the bacon and raising two beautiful children. Doing it all. I call that a mighty strong woman. 💪💕❤️”

Others simply described Witherspoon as an “amazing mom.”