Ryan Phillippe blames divorce from Reese Witherspoon on youthfulness

Ryan Phillippe believes age was the the problem with his marriage to Reese Witherspoon.

The star of ABC’s “Secrets and Lies” opened up about his former union to the Oscar winner on “Larry King Now,” with King inquiring if being a show business couple was the reason behind their demise.

“I think more of the problem was age, you know, when we got together so young,” explained Phillippe, now 40, being sure to refer to Witherspoon as his ex. “I think it can create issues -- two people in this industry -- because there’s so much noise that goes along with it.”

The couple met at a mutual friend’s birthday party, then costarred in 1999’s “Cruel Intentions.” They married in June 1999, while they were both in their 20s. Daughter Ava, now 15, arrived three months after they said “I do,” and they later had a son, Deacon, now 11.

He and Witherspoon announced their separation in October 2006 amid cheating rumors and their divorce was finalized in the middle of 2008.

“The Lincoln Lawyer” star went on to date a slew of actresses and had another daughter with model-actress Alexis Knapp in 2011. For the past four years, he’s been dating civil-rights lawyer Paulina Slatger. Witherspoon went on to marry CAA agent Jim Toth in 2011 and welcomed son Tennessee in 2012.

The “Wild” actress, 38, opened up about their high-profile split in a “60 Minutes” interview last December and blamed her career slump on their divorce.

“You know, you can’t really be very creative when you feel like your brain is scrambled eggs,” she said at the time. “I was just kind of floundering career-wise cause I wasn’t making things I was passionate about, I was just kinda working. It was really clear the audiences weren’t responding to anything I was putting out there.”

Phillippe also told King that that he and his ex remain “very much” friends and are devoted to their kids.

Meanwhile, the “Damages” alum said his reputation as a Hollywood bad boy puzzles him.

“I’m a pretty regular dude,” he said, adding: “I’m also a pretty dedicated dad and have multiple companies, so there’s not a lot of time for me to be a Hollywood bad boy.”

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