Reese Witherspoon is known for her bright smile and feel-good films like “Legally Blonde” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” but behind the scenes, the actress has weathered her share of storms — especially when it came to raising her children in the spotlight.

In a candid new interview with The New York Times, the 49-year-old actress reflected on one of her biggest regrets from that time: raising her children in Los Angeles amid her very public divorce from Ryan Phillippe.

“I really regret living in L.A. during that time,” Witherspoon admitted. “I remember at church once in L.A., a guy jumping on the hood of the car and on each side, three people pushing against the window banging on the door when my kids were little after I got a divorce and chasing us like it was a police chase, down the freeways. It was terrifying. It was really hard on my kids. Anxiety-producing.”

The couple, who married in 1999 after meeting on the set of Cruel Intentions, split in 2006 when their children were just 7 and 3. Witherspoon said the paparazzi attention was relentless and often crossed lines of decency.

“I know it feels like they’re just taking pictures, but it would be like 25 people on the side of the soccer field photographing me and Ryan to see if we got along, or we didn’t get along,” she recalled. “And there’s a little boy and a little girl there.”

The constant scrutiny took a toll on her children’s well-being. “My kids had really bad anxiety,” she shared. “And it was all external. You can only shield them from so much… [The paparazzi] would yell things at the kids about their dad or me that were wildly inappropriate.”

Through those difficult years, Witherspoon leaned on friends like Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Aniston, who were also navigating motherhood in the public eye. “We would talk a lot about navigating public interest in our kids and how we could protect them from pictures and paparazzi, because they would be everywhere,” she said.

Looking back, the actress credits social media with giving her a bit more control over what the public sees of her family. “That’s why when social media emerged, Jennifer Garner and I got on the phone, and we were like, ‘Oh, my God, we can decide when people have pictures of our kids? Sign me up,’” she said. “It devalued that market. There was no longer a market to see pictures of my children because people were getting it for free.”

The “Walk the Line” star also reflected on her growth over the years — both as a woman and as a mother. She spoke of overcoming insecurity and pain from past relationships, sharing, “I was very good at being a professional and showing up and doing the right thing, but I wasn’t emotionally mature when I was young… My spirit had been diminished because I thought all those awful things that person said about me were true. I had to rewire my brain. But I was really insecure. It took me a long time to be this woman that I am now.”

Despite the difficulties, Witherspoon said she’s found compassion for others navigating life in the public eye. “It’s very hard to be a public figure,” she said. “I have a lot of compassion for people who live public lives and maintain privacy. It’s nearly impossible at this point, with everybody dehumanizing you, taking pictures of you like you’re an animal in the zoo instead of a person with their children.”

Through it all, she’s held onto her role as a protective mom — one who’s learned, grown, and found peace in the process.