What College Life Is Really Like For Reese Witherspoon's Son Deacon
Reese Witherspoon's kids are growing up fast. So fast that Witherspoon's oldest son, Deacon Phillippe, is now in college. Although judging by a recent Instagram story that the teen posted, it looks like Deacon's dorm room could do with a mother's touch. Deacon and his sister, Ava Phillippe, are Reese's two oldest children, whom she shares with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe.
Witherspoon was a young mom when she had Ava in 1999. Per Today, the actor was only 23, so it's little surprise that the two look more like sisters than mother and daughter. Deacon followed in 2003, and like his sibling, he's the perfect mix of his genetically blessed parents' DNA. Witherspoon and Ryan divorced in 2008. She walked down the aisle with her second husband, Jim Toth, in 2011, and the couple share her third child, Tennessee Toth. In March, they announced they were divorcing after 12 years of marriage.
Witherspoon's kids are helping her readjust to the single life. They were by her side to celebrate her first post-divorce Mother's Day. Witherspoon posted pics of Deacon and Tennessee clowning around with her mom. "Still laughing about this whole brunch," she captioned the snaps, commenting that the "last slide is the truth." The final image is a picture of an owl, with "I plan to love you, nurture you, and give you enough dysfunction to make you funny" written above it. Witherspoon will need a sense of humor when she sees her son's dorm room.
D- for tidiness
Deacon Phillippe gave his Instagram followers a peak into his college life with a photo of himself in his dorm room. Proving that celeb students are just like regular students, his unmade single bed comprised crumpled, unmatching pillowcases, sheet, and comforter. There's a plastic storage box tucked under the bed and clothes spilling out of a laundry bag.
Deacon's dorm room will likely cause Witherspoon sleepless nights. The actor admitted to Harper's Bazaar (via Female First) that she likes to clean and tidy up to relax. "You know what I like to do? Reorganize bookshelves and my sock drawer," she said. "Jim's like, 'What have you been doing for four hours in your closet?' I'm like, 'Um, reorganizing my underwear?'" Meanwhile, Witherspoon told Ellen DeGeneres that Deacon once nicknamed her "the mommy trash compactor" because of her garbage can obsession. "It makes me a little crazy that the trash is overflowing, so then I put on rubber boots, and I literally get into the trash can and I [stomp on it]," she shared.
Witherspoon's fixation runs so deep that she even cleans her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And she gave it a pep talk while she polished. "Now you're looking good, girl," Witherspoon said in a video she posted on her Instagram Story (via Buzzfeed). "That's right. And don't you let people walk all over you. I know you're on the street, but don't you do that; you're a queen. You're a queen!"
All grown up
Deacon Phillippe's dad, Ryan Phillippe, is thrilled that his son is following his passion and studying music. "I am so proud," Ryan told ET before Deacon started at NYU. "He's about to go to college for music. That's his primary focus. The acting thing he likes to do, and he will do according to what his appetite for it is, but his focus is primarily music."
Reese Witherspoon is equally supportive of Deacon's budding music career. She posted a photo of his first single's cover image and boasted that "It's the perfect summer bop with a sick beat and dope drops (is that what the kids say ?!)." Hopefully, she managed to stay dry-eyed when Dylan headed off to the Big Apple to start his studies. Witherspoon told Ellen DeGeneres she was reduced to tears after her daughter Ava Phillippe left home. "I might have gone into her empty room, laid down on her bed, and cried when she went into college," Witherspoon admitted.
Meanwhile, Witherspoon is still adjusting to the fact that her little boy is now all grown up. "Huge birthday wishes to my boy @deaconphillippe !!" She captioned photos and a video posted to Instagram. "Actually, not a boy; he is a 20-year-old man today! Deacon, you are such a ray of sunshine, love, and positivity in this world. Keep shining that wonderful light on us all! I [love] you!"