Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe split

By Karen Thomas, USA TODAY

"Another Hollywood golden couple has bitten the dust.

After seven years of marriage, Reese Witherspoon, 30, and Ryan Phillippe, 32, have "decided to formally separate," according to a statement released Monday by the couple's spokeswoman.

The couple met at Witherspoon's 21st birthday bash in 1997 and announced their engagement in December, 1998. The Cruel Intentions co-stars were married on a South Carolina plantation on June 5, 1999, and Witherspoon gave birth to the couple's daughter Ava, 7, three months later. Son Deacon, 3, joined the family in 2003.

But by 2005, reports of marital discord were swirling, suggesting the couple was in counseling. The Legally Blonde actress responded to reports, telling The Oprah Winfrey Show on Dec. 16, "In what capacity is working on yourself or your marriage a bad thing? ... Nobody's perfect."

The couple were a fixture on the entertainment scene, especially during the 2005 awards season, when they endeared themselves further with the public. Witherspoon picked up multiple prizes for her role as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line, and Phillippe, now starring in Clint Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, was part of the ensemble cast honored for Crash.

Phillippe enthusiastically celebrated his wife's best-actress win at the Golden Globes by jumping up and down. He recently admitted in Rolling Stone that he was tipsy that night. "


I'm sad. No, seriously.