Was Reese Witherspoon’s father a bigamist? All about parents as actress opens up about navigating complicated relationships

Actress Reese Witherspoon, who is praised for her acting accomplishments, has won it all in her acting career. Though her parents' legal issues have at times troubled her. Her mother, Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Witherspoon, accused her father, Dr. John Draper Witherspoon, of bigamy in 2012. Reese Witherspoon opens up about navigating through relationships on The New York Times’ The Interview podcast.

Betty Witherspoon filed a petition in a Tennessee court on May 8, 2012, alleging that her husband of over 40 years had unlawfully wed Tricianne Taylor earlier that year. The filing claims that Betty learned about the purported union after seeing an article in the newspaper that John had married Taylor in January 2012 and had planned to hold a reception in May.

In her affidavit, Betty described her husband's mental issues, including drinking, hoarding, excessive spending, and maybe dementia. She wrote:

"When I confronted my husband, he said he didn't know who Tricianne Taylor was and that he did not remember getting married."

Given her continued marital relationship and her worries that Taylor had moved into Reese Witherspoon's condominium. Betty requested that the court dissolve John's second marriage. She further claimed that Taylor had tried to meddle in family affairs and had obtained access to John's finances and cars.

According to People, Betty had confronted John about his alleged marriage, but John denied all the allegations by saying he didn't recall being married to Taylor and denied ever knowing her.

Additionally, according to court records, Taylor was denied entry by security when she tried to attend Reese Witherspoon's wedding to talent agent Jim Toth in March 2011. This showed how the situation escalated.

Reese Witherspoon chose to avoid all this by continuing with her work and her family. She avoided any comments on the issue.

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Private resolution and later reconciliation

The couple who met at the University of Tennessee and later got married in 1970 had two kids soon. Together, they brought up John Jr. and Reese Witherspoon. By 1996, they had separated but were not legally divorced, as revealed by Betty. They contacted frequently and she had remained optimistic that John would become well.

The 2012 lawsuit received a lot of attention at first, but later the lawsuit was settled discreetly and out of the public eye.

John's second marriage was later dissolved, and all the legal issues ended. The Witherspoons later reconciled. It was later reported by Australian outlet Women’s Day, that the pair had been back together for “quite a while” and were “still married.”

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Reese Witherspoon opens up about an abusive relationship

In an interview with The New York Times’ The Interview podcast, Reese Witherspoon revealed going through an abusive relationship. She revealed everything to host Lulu Garcia-Navarro. She said:

"I had to rewire my brain."

She later went on to say:

“I was very good at being a professional and showing up and doing the right thing, but I wasn’t emotionally mature when I was young. You get into relationships that don’t work for you, and sometimes you don’t even see the dynamics that are happening.”

She continued:

“It took me a while to reconstitute myself. My spirit had been diminished because I thought all those awful things that person said about me were true. I had to rewire my brain.”

Reese Witherspoon has improved her self-image throughout the years while juggling parenthood and her work. She shares daughter Ava, 26, and son Deacon, 21, with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, and son Tennessee, 13, with ex-husband Jim Toth.

“It took me a long time to be this woman that I am now. It’s very hard to be a public figure.”

She added:

“I have a lot of compassion for people who live public lives and maintain privacy. It’s nearly impossible at this point with everybody dehumanizing you in a certain way, taking pictures of you like you’re an animal in the zoo instead of a person with their children or having a private moment.”

Reese has already discussed the topic before. She said that leaving the violent relationship altered her on a "cellular level" in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in O, The Oprah Magazine back in 2018:

"I drew a line in the sand, and it got crossed, and my brain just switched. I couldn't go any further. I was really young, and it was profound."

Reese explained:

"It changed who I was on a cellular level, the fact that I stood up for myself. It's part of the reason I can stand up and say, 'Yes, I'm ambitious.' Because someone tried to take that from me."

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Though Reese Witherspoon did not provide any comments on her family's legal issue, she has frequently emphasized the influence her parents had on her life.

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