Reese and husband Ryan Phillippe are the parents of Ava, 6, and Deacon, 2. Raising two children in the spotlight has enforced the need for a sense of normalcy at home, which was something that came easily for them. "We grew up like normal people," Reese says. "Our parents both worked and there were kids in the house. We just cook dinner and hang out with the kids on the floor. ... Somebody asked me the other day, 'Do you have a chef?' And I said, 'Yes, her name is Reese.'"
Reese is the first to admit that her home life, including her marriage, is not all Hollywood romance and glamour. She and Ryan are open about using counseling to work on their relationship. "We've done that in the past," Reese says, "and it's always struck me as odd that people grabbed onto that story and made it sound so negative. In what capacity is working on yourself or your marriage a bad thing? What marriage isn't a journey? ... If you don't have money to go to therapy, there's always church. You can get together with groups and friends and talk about things with other couples."
"It's good you're saying this," Oprah tells Reese, "because I think everybody looks at the magazines and they think, 'Oh, they're perfect.'"
"Nobody's perfect," Reese says, "My dad always said to me when I was growing up, 'Everybody's got their own set of problems,' and that's so true. I keep it with me. There are people that you meet that have so much and people that you meet who have next to nothing. We all have our own set of problems."
Published 10/10/2005
