Ryan Philippe bought over $600 worth of lace camisoles and panties at an LA boutique and told a salesperson the items were for “someone special” most likely his latest girlfriend. He then headed to a children’s store and got a bunch of stuffed animals for his children.

RYAN PHILLIPPE strolls into a swanky LA lingerie boutique and buys three lace-and-silk camisoles ($125 each), plus three of those hot new boy-style panties ($105 each). He tells the saleslady the sexy stuff is for “someone special!” Then, just minutes later, Ryan pops up at a posh kiddie store, where he pops for a pile of stuffed animals!… Okay, folks, I’ve reported – now you decide! Sounds like he’s a generous dad – but was Ryan buyin’ frillies for REESE WITHERSPOON, his estranged wife, or…what? I mean, are these gifts for making up…or making out?

Chances are Ryan was buying the stuff for someone other than his estranged wife, Reese Witherspoon. Reese shut him out of the mansion they once shared with their two children, Ava, 8, and Deacon, 3, and most likely would not appreciate some sexy underwear for Christmas.

Reese was spotted out doing some shopping of her own on 12/19. Pictures from Hollywood’s Best.

All of the latest divorcing celebrity couples share one commonality - they have toddler children. In fact none of the splitting couples are childless and all of them have children between the ages of one to four.

Whenever celebrities get divorced I am particularly interested in their children - how many they have and what ages and genders they are. It struck me that nearly all of the recently-divorcing celebrities have children that are going through toddlerhood and probably bugging the hell out of them. (Along with doing plenty of cute things to soften the blow of random tantrums, like saying new words you know you never taught them.)

I’m not saying that the innocent toddlers were the causes of these Hollywood breakups, children are never to blame for a divorce. It’s just an interesting coincidence. Here are the latest celebrity splits along with the stats on their children.

Chris Rock and Maleek Rock: double toddler trouble
Chris Rock was said to have filed divorce papers in early November of this year, but that turns out not to be true. TMZ reports that Chris and Maleek seem to be giving their relationship of ten years another try. They were photographed out at a charity dinner together last week and have not made their divorce official. They have two toddler daughters, Lola, 4, and Zahra, 2.


Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson: two year-old son
Chris Robinson has finally filed for divorce from Kate Hudson after this unlikely Hollywood couple announced their separation in mid August. They have a two year-old son, Ryder, who is such a handful that they don’t even dare cut his hair.


Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe: one toddler son, an older daughter
Reese Witherspoon wasted no time filing divorce from Ryan Phillippe, who was presumed to be cheating on her with his younger co-star, Abbie Cornish. They announced their separation at the end of October and Reese made it official less than two weeks later. They have two children, Ava, 8, and Deacon, who just turned three.


Heather Mills and Paul McCartney: one toddler daughter
Heather Mills and Paul McCartney seem as ill-suited for each other as an evil harpy and beloved legendary rock star could be. They managed to procreate, though, and it was undoubtedly great sex that got them together in the first place. Their daughter, Beatrice, just turned three.


Britney Spears and Kevin Federline: one soon-to-be toddler, one newborn
What recent celebrity divorce list would be complete without Britney and K-Fed? I almost didn’t include them, though, because Sean Preston turned one in September and only just entered toddlerhood. According to the Wiki, toddlers are between one to three, or maybe two to five, so little SP counts.

These breakups during their children’s toddlerhood may serve a biological purpose. Anthropologists have found that couples typically break up when their children are toddlers, with a peak in breakups after four years together. Having seen their children through the vulnerable baby stage, they are free to find another mate and reproduce again, which is our biological imperative.

The four-year pattern, as well as a tendency to divorce at the height of one’s reproductive years, also makes sense from a sociological point of view. “For instance,” Fisher says, “a prehistoric male who ‘divorced’ his partner after seeing one offspring through infancy would have had the opportunity to pick a younger ’spouse’ more capable of bearing and raising babies. A female might leave one mate to ‘marry’ a better provider for her and her forthcoming children.”

Notable recent celebrity divorces that did not involve toddlers include Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, Eminem and Kim Mathers, and Richie Sambora and Heather Locklear. Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards have two toddlers, though, and I didn’t include them since their split is old news.

Unlike Kate Hudson, who still hasn’t filed for divorce despite announcing her separation three months ago, Reese Witherspoon has not wasted any time making her split from Ryan Phillippe official, and has filed divorce papers citing “irreconcilable differences.”

Reese checked the box terminating Ryan’s right to spousal support, and has written in that she requests “Exclusive use of the family residence,” meaning Ryan has to get out of their mansion, or has already done so. She is seeking primary physical custody of their two children, Deacon, 3, and Ava, 7, but plans to grant visitation rights to Ryan.

Meanwhile Reese was spotted at a cafe in Austin, Texas - less than a mile and a half away from the Asian restaurant where her husband was busted making out with his costar Abbie Cornish a month ago. (I actually looked this up and would call it an exclusive, but it wasn’t that brilliant of a connection.)

Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon dined Tuesday night at Austin Java Co. on Barton Springs Road with an unidentified man and dog.
Witherspoon, wearing a lavender and black jumpsuit, sat on the front porch of the popular South Austin restaurant and ate half of a chicken sandwich.
She seemed to go unnoticed by diners, but smiled at a couple of folks who recognized her as she walked out.

What was Reese doing in Austin? Ryan and Abby Cornish are said to have cheated after hooking up on the set of their movie “Stop Loss,” which was filming there. A half-assed Google search yielded no connection between Reese and Austin, and she grew up in the city of Nashville. It’s possible that Reese had a business meeting there, but it seems more likely to me - and much more salacious to report - that she was trying to get to the bottom of her husband’s cheating. Who was the guy she was having lunch with? Was he an on-set spy? An industry insider giving Reese the dirt?

Reese is due to start filming the thriller “Rendition,” but filming is said to be taking place in LA, Washington DC, Morocco and Cape Town. Austin is not on the list.

Phillippe never denied that he cheated on Reese, and gave a statement to People that “I’m not a perfect person, but I’m not guilty of a lot of the things I have been accused of. My priority is and always has been the health and safety of my family.”

Us Weekly points out how much Ryan’s new maybe-girlfriend looks like Reese (composite image above), and cites a relationship expert who claims that men look for another version of their wife who is more appreciative of them and easily dominated.

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.

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.

Jake Gyllenhaal and his costar weak Heath Ledger won the MTV Movie award for “Best Kiss” for their on-screen guy on guy snog in “Brokeback Mountain.” Gyllenhaal joked during his acceptance speech that he told Ledger at the time that if they didn’t win the award it wouldn’t have been worth it. Gyllenhaal was a good sport and attended the ceremony, while Ledger stayed at home cowering from the paparrazi.

Gyllenhaal was recently linked with Natalie Portman after he was said to be dating an Olympic snowboarder. We just don’t see it happening - either one.

Ryan Phillippe and his powerful sperm are going to star in the Iraq War drama “Stop-Loss” headed by “Boys Don’t Cry” director Kimberly Pierce. Phillippe will play a soldier who refuses to return to Iraq after being called back to battle unfairly. This is a big opportunity for Phillippe and should help his faltering Hollywood career.

We needed a filmsy excuse to publish these pictures of Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Phillippe working out with the same trainer. If only they were high resolution and we could zoom in the pics of Phillippe wiping his sweaty face with the bottom of his shirt.

(We are totally ripping off The Bastardly’s favorite expression in that headline.)

Pictures [via]

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.