Reese Witherspoon Recalls Finding Her Voice as a Single Mom in Her Late 20s: I Made ‘a Lot of Decisions for My Kids’

Reese Witherspoon is reflecting on the moments in her life where she recognized she had to “make decisions” — both as a mother and a businessperson.

During Hello Sunshine‘s second annual Shine Away event in Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 5, the You’re Cordially Invited star participated in a panel with moderator Kellyn Kenny and fellow panelists Laura Dern and Octavia Spencer — where she was asked if there was an “a-ha” moment in her life where she “found” her voice.

Witherspoon, 48, said she thinks about “so many moments,” before sharing that what she loves “about Hello Sunshine is that we look for stories that women saved themselves,” adding, “because every woman in this room has saved herself,” whether it be from a “financial situation, an education situation, a bad relationship, you had to save yourself.”

“There’s a moment in all of our lives when you realize, no wait, no one’s coming to help, no one’s coming to make that decision,” she added. “For me, I have to make that decision. I’ve had a lot of those. Being a single mom when I was in my late twenties, I had to make a lot of decisions for my two kids and a lot of financial decisions, too.”

Witherspoon is mom to three children: Ava Phillippe, 25, and son Deacon Phillippe, 20, whom she shares with ex Ryan Phillippe, as well as son Tennessee James Toth, 12, whom she shares with ex Jim Toth. She was 23 years old when she welcomed Ava.

As Witherspoon explained, she also had a moment of realization in her life — specifically at Hello Sunshine — after her hit HBO series Big Little Lies earned some of its Emmys and amid Academy Award recognition for her films Wild and Gone Girl.

“I had four employees and I couldn’t keep the lights on. I remember the accountant calling me going, you didn’t make enough money producing those three things to keep four employees. And I was like, ‘I’m doing something wrong,’ ” Witherspoon said of running her media company at the time, adding that it led to an “a-ha moment” where she recognized she needed help.

“The other thing was that I think it was an important moment for me to realize there’s things I didn’t know and I had to reach out for help, and that’s when I had a friend help me create a business plan,” she said. “It’s also good to know what you’re not good at, and I know what I’m really good at, but it’s also important to go, ‘I’m not good at something.’ ”

After Sarah Harden became CEO of the company in 2017, Witherspoon joked that she’d ask her “literally the dumbest questions you can possibly imagine,” noting that the “vulnerability I think is what led to our success.”

“You need to find a partner. If you’re super creative, find a partner who’s really good at business or really good at finance,” she added. “We have to have that partnership, too.”

Hello Sunshine’s Shine Away event, connected by AT&T, also takes place on Sunday, Oct. 6 at nya Studios in Los Angeles, with its mission to empower women as it features conversations with names in entertainment, business and culture — including Spencer, Naomi Watts, Olivia Munn, and Spanx founder Sara Blakely.

“We’re thrilled to welcome such an incredible lineup of talent to this year’s Shine Away,” Witherspoon shared at the time of the lineup’s announcement in September. “We created this event to inspire women to reconnect with their passions, and with this group of brilliant voices, I know attendees will leave feeling energized and motivated.”