HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Two months after saying he does his best to avoid tabloid pictures of his ex-wife Reese Witherspoon with her new beau Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Phillippe stepped out publicly for the first time Thursday night with new girlfriend Abbie Cornish.
The couple made their first public appearance together at the 2008 Australian in Film Breakthrough Awards in Los Angeles, before ending the night at Hennessy’s weekly jazz night at Teddy’s in Hollywood.
“They seemed really into each other as they were talking very closely,” a source told Usmagazine.com.
“They were seated side by side the entire time they were there and he was all over her,” the source added.
In March, Phillippe spoke out on the weirdness of seeing Witherspoon and Gyllenhaal together.
“It’s bizarre,” the 33-year-old actor told USA Today. “There’s plenty of times when I say, ‘What a strange situation I’ve found myself in.’ But at a certain point you know it’s going to happen, so you are prepared in some fashion.”
Phillippe and Witherspoon were married in South Carolina in 1999. The couple split in October 2006 and have two children together, Ava, 8, and Deacon, 4. Phillippe has readily admitted the divorce was difficult on him and says he leaned on his three closest friends during his lowest points.
“They got me through the tougher times,” he previously revealed. “I’ve definitely spent periods of time in a very limited state of mind based on whatever I was going through in my life. At this point in time I feel in a pretty good place.”
While shooting his latest film, “Stop-Loss,” which was released earlier this year, Phillippe became the subject of tabloid rumors (his marriage to Witherspoon was on the downslide at the time) that a romance was blossoming with Cornish, 25, his costar in the film. When asked in March if they are indeed a couple, Phillippe said, “There’s no good to come of making any definitive statement about your personal life in that regard.”
“It’s just something I would really rather not address,” he then added. “It has to be a ‘no comment.’ “
As for whether he can see himself getting married again in the future, Phillippe told USA Today he remains open to the possibility.
“I can see doing it again, yeah,” he said. “And I can certainly see possibly having children again. I’m pretty young, and there are many beautiful things about that idea of marriage and family. It just doesn’t always work out perfect for everybody.”
