It’s been just a few days since Reese Witherspoon took to social media and announced she and her husband of 12 years Jim Toth are moving forward with a divorce. She wrote at the time that a “great deal of care and consideration” had gone into the decision, and now it seems there may have been signs the couple was planning to split well before the news even broke.
There’s reportedly been no big “scandal or drama” leading to the split, but if you’ll remember back to 2021, Reese Witherspoon actually made several notable real estate deals last year. In the first, she sold an LA home back in 2022 for $21.5 million. A second home was sold in Nashville for $7.4 million. The Los Angeles home had originally been purchased for $16 million, so she sold it at a profit. The TN home she’d originally bought in 2018 for about half of what she got for it when she sold, as well.
But what does this potentially have to do with her divorce?
Why Reese Selling Her Real Estate Is Notable
A New York Family Law Attorney (who is not actually affiliated with the case), spoke with People and talked about how these could be examples of tight financial planning by the couple ahead of their public decision to split. The lawyer Marilyn Chinitz, elaborated on the concept, noting,
[They] seem to have done the smart uncoupling financial savvy thing, and that's just to sell everything and create liquidity, then it's easy to divide up money.
Along with the real estate liquidating, Reese Witherspoon also notably sold her stake in her company Hello Sunshine last year. That company is responsible for some of the major productions the actress’ name has been attached to, as well as her famous book club. She's now reportedly worth hundreds of millions following the sale. Again, those assets are liquid. So could these have been signs the couple was already considering splitting up well before the announcement was made?
To note, Reese still owns a staggering amount of property, with The Dirt writing that she spent $28 million to buy four homes in the first part of 2022 million alone. One of those was a prime “gated” property in Nashville that the aforementioned outlet hedged at the time could have been purchased for $18 million so the family could spend more time there.
The point being that last summer she was still purchasing property in the area as well, so selling a few homes to liquid assets may or may not connect with the divorce. Still, given Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth are splitting now, any assets that are liquidated already will probably come in handy, so the real estate sales are still notable.
In addition to the large portfolio of homes the couple owns, both are successful in other rights. They work together on her clothing brand Draper James, with Toth serving on the board of that organization. Witherspoon also commands a hefty fee for performances in projects like The Morning Show (allegedly $2 million per episode) on Apple TV+ and Your Place or Mine, which premiered earlier this year on Netflix.
Toth meanwhile has money from a variety of ventures. He formerly served as talent agent with Creative Artists Agency, and he’s had roles with Quibi and served on various boards, including the aforementioned Draper James.
But the lawyer notes they should be “applauded” for how smoothly they’ve been handling the split thus far.
They made their case incredibly simple and hopefully their custody case will be equally resolved on a cooperative basis. [Witherspoon's] whole world is just starting, if you think about it. So why be mired in so much conflict and pain? How intelligent to just come to a solution, divide up assets, start all over again and move on. I mean, I think they ought to be applauded for the way they've handled their divorce.
We often see former celebrity couples mired in conflict. There was the whole fight Kelly Clarkson had to go through in order to push her ex Brandon Blackstock off of the Montana ranch the couple had formerly shared. Blackstock didn’t go quietly either. And Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde have been mired in a custody battle for months. If Toth and Witherspoon stick to their initial statement, there may be a whole lot less drama surrounding this celebrity divorce. Then, they can both do what they do best: Get back to work.
