Phillippe shirtless for W

Hot dad Ryan Phillippe talks to W magazine and gets his shirt off. Here is a preview...

On if he’s slowing down his acting career: “I’ve had a lot of upheaval in my personal life. I wanted to take time to make sure that my kids were okay and to build a new life that was going to be suitable to being a single parent. Every once in a while you kind of want to take a step back and refocus to make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons.”

On his divorce from Reese Witherspoon: “[It was] the darkest, saddest place I had ever been. It was a struggle—there were a good four or five months of not being able to get out of bed. It was the worst time in my life. [But] you get through it. It’s a process that’s not easy, but I get less and less sad about it every day.”

On his costar Abbie Cornish causing his divorce: “First of all, I wouldn’t answer that, but I would say that things are never as simple as it’s made out to be in the tabloid press. It was unfair for her to be called the names that she was, because it wasn’t about that. I don’t think an outside person can ever cause a divorce. I had difficulties in my relationship, and in my marriage, long before I ever met her.”

On his current relationship with Abbie: “She and I are close friends, and as far as if there is any future, that is not where we are at now. That is what other people like to say or like to assume. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a friendship, and we are getting to know each other in a really difficult situation.”

On the paparazzi affecting his daughter Ava: “It’s really scarring. It definitely does a number on my eight-year-old daughter. To hear her say that she worries about what she’s wearing when she leaves the house because she knows her picture will be taken…. She’s worried about friends at school who come up to her and say they see her in magazines. It’s a really disturbing environment to bring up a child in. You don’t know that when you are in your early 20s and you have your first kid. You don’t know how ugly it can get.”

On why he thinks the paparazzi still chase him: “[It’s] because I was married to the highest-paid actress in the world. Even though I’m not with her any longer, there is a certain amount of notoriety that I guess sticks beyond.”

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