Ryan Phillippe opens up about divorce (Video)

Ryan Phillippe once referred to his divorce from Reese Witherspoon as “the darkest, saddest” time of his life, but now, nearly eight years since they went their separate ways, he’s opening up about what went wrong.

The couple first met at Witherspoon’s 21st birthday, before starring alongside one another in Cruel Intentions and marrying the same year in 1999.

Phillippe spoke about their break-up on Larry King Now, saying that working in showbusiness did not contribute to their divorce.

He explained: “No. I think more of the problem was age. We got together so young.

“I think it can create issues, two people being in the same industry. Because there’s so much noise that goes along with it.”

Oscar-winning actress Witherspoon filed for divorce from Phillippe in 2006, with the pair sharing joint custody of their children – daughter Ava, 15 and son Deacon, 11.

Phillippe, who is in a longterm relationship with girlfriend Paulina Slagter, also spoke about about his supposed ‘bad boy’ reputation, saying: “This is something that comes up with regular frequency and I’m not always sure where it comes from. I’m a pretty regular dude!

“I’ve been with my girlfriend for four years. She’s a civil rights lawyer, so we have a lot of common interest. And I’m also a pretty dedicated dad, and I’ve got multiple companies. So there’s not a lot of time for me to be a Hollywood bad boy!”

Agencies/Canadajournal