Reese Witherspoon says she was 'terrified' to become a mother at 22
"I didn't know how to balance work and motherhood."
As many first time mothers can attest, preparing for a baby can be extremely daunting. Actress Reese Witherspoon said her experience was no different when she was expecting her first child.
Appearing on "The Drew Barrymore Show" on Tuesday, the Oscar-winning actress confessed that her life isn't nearly as put together as fans might believe. Her best example she could give was when she was pregnant with her now 21-year-old daughter Ava Phillippe.
"I got pregnant when I was 22 years old," Witherspoon said, adding that she was "terrified" at the time. "I didn't know how to balance work and motherhood."
She said that welcoming Ava into the world also cast a shadow of doubt on her burgeoning acting career, confessing that back then, "I didn't have any real power, leverage within my industry" because she "hadn't ... established myself as someone who could demand" certain things, such as ensuring a movie shoots closer to her child's school.
"I was just like every other mom trying to figure it out," said the 44-year-old mom of three.
Now that "The Morning Show" star has found her stride balancing a major career as a movie and television actress alongside raising her three children, she fully embraces the working mom lifestyle.
"You take the food out of your mouth, the clothes off your back, the sleep out of your life -- but every bit of it, every bit of that sacrifice is truly worth it," Witherspoon smiled. "That's what makes me wake up on a Sunday. It's not movies or my job. It's my kids."
Witherspoon is the mother of Ava, 21 and Deacon Phillippe, 16 -- whom she shares with ex Ryan Phillippe -- as well as seven-year-old Tennessee James Toth with husband Jim Toth.