Roger Friedman of Fox News claims to have witnessed Reese and Ryan’s huge fight at the “Flags of Our Fathers” premiere. He claims that they had a very obvious fight on the terrace at the party, and that they had already agreed to break up at that point. He mentions it as an aside, though, so I’m not certain he’s confident that it’s true:

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.

Reese Witherspoon was photographed out and about by herself in Brentwood on 10/28. She looks gorgeous and well dressed just days before announcing the dissolution of her marriage to Ryan Phillppe. She has reportedly contacted divorce attorney Robert Kaufman, who represented Jennifer Aniston in her split with Brad Pitt. I bet Reese gets right down to it and files divorce papers soon. Still, she’s going to take a hit. Reese and Ryan have no prenuptual agreement, and Ryan is entitled to half of the couple’s fortune under California law.

Pictures from Gossip Rocks.

While we may never know what hastened the end of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s Hollywood marriage, we can get a lot of information from the clues they dropped in interviews. We’ve covered a couple of Ryan’s recent interviews that suggest that he’s having trouble in his relationship and although I hyped it at the time and never thought they would actually break up.

According to the latest scoop at TMZ.com, Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon have officially called it quits and are now separated.

The couple’s rep released a statement to TMZ Monday morning that says “We are saddened to announce that Reese & Ryan have decided to formally separate. They remain committed to their family and we ask that you please respect their privacy and the safety of their children at this time.”

Apparently, the celebrity couple had been struggling with their marriage for quite some time. Although the two have only separated for now, Reese is in the process of speaking with a divorce lawyer to dissolve the marriage for good.

I think it’s always sad when couples like this divorce, especially when there are little children involved. It seems, however, that Reese and Ryan really tried to make it work for the sake of their kids before taking such a huge step. Things must have been really bad between them for Reese to have to contact a divorce lawyer.

Note from Celebitchy: It seems like things came to a head for Ryan and Reese while Ryan was promoting his new film, “Flags of our Fathers.” There were reports that Ryan and Reese were fighting at the premiere, and the fact that Ryan is working must have made it painfully obvious how much more successful Reese is. According to IMDB, Ryan is filming another movie and has two more coming up. Reese has three films that have been announced but are not filming yet.

Ryan Phillipe says that he likes to spend time away from his wife of seven years, Reese Witherspoon, because she nags the shit out of him, but that he loves and misses his children dearly. At least that’s what I read between the lines of his recent interview:

Flags of Our Fathers star Ryan Phillippe hasn’t worked with wife Reese Witherspoon since 1999′s Cruel Intentions (they met on set), but, he says, it’s better that way.

“Sometimes I think it’s a little cleaner to, at least at this stage in our lives, keep that stuff separate,” he tells Interview magazine in its new issue. “I’d never write anything off completely, but I just feel like there’s something to be said for the individuality and mystery of doing things on your own.”

Phillippe, 32, says he’ll never get used to working away from Witherspoon and their kids Ava, 7, and Deacon, 3. “That’s a difficulty that I don’t know if I will ever totally come to terms with. But I think I commit sometimes even further to a role because it leaves me less time to think about those things that make me feel sad, like not being around my children.”

Immersing himself in his role, he says, serves as “a shield or a protective blanket that keeps me from having to deal with the reality. If I can’t see my kids, and I’m in another time zone, I really have to live and eat and breathe the work around the clock, because that keeps me sane.”

Asked if he distances himself from Witherspoon when they talk on the phone, he says, “At times, yes. But because she does the same work, she completely understands.”

The couple makes sure that if one parent is making a movie, the other will remain at home with the kids. “That’s one of the ways we keep the balance,” Phillippe says.

But, he admits, “There are obstacles in every family. … It’s never going to be perfect – you just try to do the best you can and to create a life that is positive and full for them.”

Of course he’s being quite reserved and is probably following Reese’s lead of revealing just enough information that it’s interesting, but not particularly telling. That seems to be the best way to conduct yourself when you’re a celebrity. Reese must have laid into him after he admitted to Rolling Stone that his life’s dream is to smoke pot and lay on the beach all day. That’s a far cry from the loving, thoughtful father he comes off as here. Those Rolling Stone journalists must make celebrities feel like they want to party.

Reese and Ryan were said to be having trouble at the premiere of Flags of our Fathers, because a paparrazo overheard them arguing and they looked kind of pissed off at each other in photos taken at the time.

While her husband relaxes with a good spliff (not that there’s anything wrong with that,) Reese prefers to get all bendy and new age doing yoga. (And if her husband’s into it maybe she enjoys a toke afterwards, as commentor Viv wonders.)

I’ve done my share of yoga, but I’m not into that bikram stuff where it’s all hot and unbearable. My aunt swears by it, but I can only stand the sauna for ten minutes so I’m not sure how I would tolerate doing poses under those conditions. Salma Hayek told a story on David Letterman’s show about how she tried to do Bikram yoga and was grossed out by other people’s sweat dripping from the ceiling. (Yes that’s random, but I can’t bring myself to just publish pictures without including some kind of news, so forgive me.)

Yoga-loving Reese is set to star in a new movie with Jake Gyllenhaal, a Middle East political thriller called “Rendition.” It starts filming in November.

Pictures from Hollywood’s Best.

What it is about Rolling Stone journalists that gets celebrities and musicians to admit they love smoking herb? Pete Doherty injected, smoked and snorted a cocktail of drugs during a Rolling Stone interview, and John Mayer revealed in an interview that he smokes pot and drinks hard liquor.

Ryan Phillipe told Rolling Stone that his ultimate dream is to move to the Caribbean and smoke pot all day. He also says he was completely wasted during his wife Reese Witherspoon’s win at the Golden Globes, having gotten drunk with Shirley MacLaine agead of time:

Now maybe I haven’t lived a celebrity lifestyle and have no idea how much stress it is to have so much money and lead an exciting life, but it seems pretty boring to me to live in the Caribbean for more than a week’s vacation. If that’s what Ryan Phillipe wants to do in 20 years we know who has all the ambition in the Witherspoon-Phillipe family.

I made that header image for another story about Reese denying that she and Ryan were having trouble because he was jealous of her skyrocketing career. It turns out she was probably right, because he wants to bum around the Caribbean and not bother working at all.

Reese Witherspoon has turned down an offer to star in another installment of the cutesy “Legally Blonde” series. The third Legally Blonde film will be set in London, and there is no word yet who will star as Elle Woods. One thing’s for sure, it will go straight to video:

That’s not surprising. Now that Reese has won an Oscar she’s really grown past making another “Legally Blonde,” although I thought the first two were cute and would watch another one.

Reese is currently starring in the dark comedic fable “Penelope,” in which she plays a cooky best friend to Christina Ricci, whose character copes with a family curse that left her with the nose of a pig.

Here are Reese and Christina at the premiere of “Penelope” at the Toronto film festival. Whatever issues Reese may have had with her weight, she seems to have conquered them because she looks fabulous now.

Pictures from Hollywood’s Best.

Reese Witherspoon, 30, and Ryan Phillipe, 31, have been married since 1999. They have two children: a daughter, Ava, 6, and a son, Deacon, 2.

After Reese won the Oscar for best actress this year it was reported that her marriage was in trouble due to Ryan’s jealousy of her skyrocketing career. Reese denied that anything was wrong and made her relationship work through sheer willpower and feminine fertility.

In mid-March Reese was said to be trying for another baby to help save her marriage, and judging from these pictures things went according to plan. You can see a baby bump when the wind blows against this loose summer coverup she’s wearing. When she’s a little further along, she can be expected to acknowledge the pregnancy.

Thanks to Just Jared for posting these pictures of Reese and pointing out her baby bump. She is seen on the beach in Malibu with her daughter Ava, 6. Ryan is seen picking up takeout for his family.

Alias is ending on May 22nd, and Jennifer Garner has said that she’s looking forward to some time off with her nearly six month-old daughter, Violet. She may not have much time to rest, because she’s negotiating for a role in The Kingdom, a political thriller:

Garner made headlines last week with her charity work with hurricane Katrina victims. She toured New Orleans with Reese Witherspoon and Cicely Tyson, and was brought to tears by a children’s performance:

It’s good of her to lend her celebrity to the cause, and more government resources and effort should be put into support for Katrina victims. Many were without adequate housing for months.

Garner has said that Alias had a good run, but that she is sad to leave her character behind.

Whatever she does next, Garner is sure to do well. She’s a positive, friendly person and doesn’t take her success for granted.

Here she is outside The Late Show last night, and in New Orleans with Reese Witherspoon. There is also a scan from People magazine about their trip. [via]

No she’s not hanging out with Whitney, she’s bending over in jeans that are too loose. Bless the evil paparrazi. The butt crack picture is mildly safe for work and is after the jump.

Reese has not responded to Kevin Smith’s statement at a University of Pennsylvania speech in which he called her a “cunt.” She has better to things to do – like making sure that her ex-boyfriends know how successful she is now and trying to get pregnant to save her marriage.

Pictures [via]

Two more including Reese’s crack after the jump.

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