Reese and Ryan Split: Witnessed I hate to say it, but I actually witnessed the split between Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon. The Hollywood couple officially called it quits today. But two weeks ago, they came to the opening night party for Ryan’s performance in Clint Eastwood’s "Flags of our Fathers." It was not a pretty scene. Reese was packing away cosmos and chatting happily with just about anyone, but it was clear she was peeved about something. The party took place in the rooftop penthouse suites of the Soho Grand Hotel, and what I saw next was something I decided not to print at the time. The couple went out on the roof terrace and had a knock-down, drag-out fight. It looked like something from "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" My line of vision was partially blocked by a big exhaust pipe, so at different times during the fight they were obscured. But then Ryan would appear, disgusted, on one side of it, and Reese on the other. Suddenly, Reese stormed back inside, crossed past me and headed for the elevator. Ryan followed in hot pursuit. Thus, their security guards assigned for the night went running after them, thinking that they were leaving. After a couple of minutes, though, clearer heads prevailed. The couple came back from the elevator with security in tow. Perhaps they’d forgotten that many members of Ryan’s family, including his grandmother, were still in the room, oblivious to what was going on. All of this was alluded to in our Oct. 17 column. I referred to their marriage as "tempestuous," trying to err on the side of good manners. It was obvious from their heated exchanges that the couple was in trouble. But no one really knows what goes inside a marriage; maybe fighting was part of their deal. In retrospect, however, Ryan and Reese already knew it was over when they came to the "Flags of Our Fathers" party. They had already committed to it, and Phillippe’s family wanted some kind of celebration. The sad thing is, they are both nice people. But they are also young; Ryan is 32, Reese just 30. They could never have calculated her stratospheric success. But actresses tend to hit their stride early, with tougher times after 40. For men, it’s the opposite. In five years, Ryan could be a perennial best actor nominee. But the early 30s — with the exception of Leonardo DiCaprio, thanks to Titanic — is the hunker-down time for most young actors. They’re too young for the good roles and too old for the teen ones. I’m sure the tabs will be full of stories of infidelity. This column has already gotten calls about it. But I think, in the end, there are no villains for Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon. It was just too much too soon.
Fox411
I guess that picture was taken before it all went down.
