Reese Witherspoon Gets Honest About Young Motherhood: ‘I Was Scared’

How is it that Reese Witherspoon can be so light and bubbly one moment — then suddenly serious and reflective the next? It’s her ability to inhabit both sides that makes her such a fantastic actress, and such an interesting star to follow. Witherspoon posted a YouTube video sharing motherhood advice on her Hello Sunshine channel, and it’s an incredible watch. With her signature combination of humor and frankness, the actress gets really, really real about what it was like to become a young parent: her hopes, her fears, and how it changed her life forever. It’s a truly inspiring must-watch, and we’re hoping it’ll encourage women everywhere to have these kinds of honest conversations with one another.

Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine YouTube channel posts new videos every month, usually from Witherspoon herself, but also from guest stars. This month, Witherspoon came on to talk about motherhood (an oft-requested discussion topic from viewers), and it’s a surprisingly vulnerable glimpse into the star’s life. “I’ve been a mom since 1999,” she starts off. “I got pregnant when I was 22, I delivered when I was 23 and I — you know, to be totally honest, it was scary, I was scared,” she confesses. Witherspoon has three kids: two with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe, 20-year-old and 15-year-old Deacon, and one with current husband Jim Toth, 7-year-old Tennessee.

Witherspoon then talks through all the ways her life changed after becoming a mother: “Your entire life will change. Everything — everything you believe, every piece of food you eat, every piece of independence you have,” she says frankly. “You can’t go out without thinking about another person, you can’t go get your groceries without thinking about another person. You don’t think about whether you’re cold or hot, you think about your kid and whether they’re cold or hot. You don’t sleep anymore.”

And, by the way, if you’re not a mother? Witherspoon fully supports that too: “If you don’t want kids, that’s actually — I love it when people make that decision because they’re being so honest, and so much of society doesn’t accept the idea that there’s just different ways to do things,” the Morning Show star shares. “And if you don’t want to be a mom, that’s totally fine.” Once again, Witherspoon delivers real talk, and we can’t get enough.