Reese Witherspoon looked “totally loved-up” and “packed on the PDA” with her new boyfriend, 57-year-old German financier Oliver Haarmann, as the two were photographed frolicking in the Mediterranean Saturday during a yachting vacation in the south of France.
But if Witherspoon, 49, is blissing out with her new love interest, it could be because she’s finally found a man who can match her — or complement her — tendency to be Hollywood’s most famous type-A overachiever, according to the Daily Mail.
“Reese has a close bond with Oliver because this is the first man she has been with who actually guides her, teaches her, mentors her,” an “insider” told the Daily Mail.
“In her last two marriages she was always the leader, now Oliver is the leader,” the source added. “He pushes her to be more, and she loves that he makes plans for them, even small things like where they go to dinner.”
In 2023, Witherspoon’s marriage to Jim Toth ended after 12 years because he supposedly couldn’t accommodate her success and because she was busy putting her career ahead of the marriage, according to the narrative told by multiple media outlets at the time.
While Toth was said to be ambitious in his own right, as a former executive with the powerful CAA talent agency, he was still more “laid-back” than Witherspoon, according to reports.
In addition to being an Academy Award-winning actor, Witherspoon also launched her Hello Sunshine media company and her Draper James lifestyle brand. At the time of her split from Toth, she reportedly was consumed with working on her various TV, film and lifestyle projects, including the Apple TV+ series, “The Morning Show.” Two years earlier, Witherspoon had become rich beyond her dreams when Hello Sunshine sold for more than $900 million in 2021, as Variety reported.
“She’s become so much more powerful than she was when they married and has expanded her areas of interest in so many ways,” a source told Page Six in 2023 about the end of her marriage to Toth. Another source told People: “They are two very different people though. Reese is headstrong and focused. Although very hard-working, Jim is more laidback.” Yet another source said to People: “She has her hand in a lot of pots; he prefers less frenzy.”
Dating reports about Witherspoon and Haarmann began to surface in September 2024, according to People. A founding partner of Searchlight Capital and a minority co-owner of NHL’s New Yorker Islands, Haarman’s financial prowess was apparently a draw for Witherspoon, according to the Daily Mail.
“He is a very accomplished private equity financier and has given her solid financial advice over her brands like Draper James and Hello Sunshine,” the insider said. “She calls him her ‘little genius’ and loves that he has an MBA from Harvard.”
Witherspoon also appreciates that Haarmann already has children with his ex-wife, so that having children together is not an issue, the insider said. Witherspoon shares a 12-year-old son, Tennessee, with Toth, and two adult children, 25-year-old Ava and 21-year-old Deacon, with her first husband Ryan Phillipe.
With regard to Phillipe, Witherspoon’s marriage to him was known to be turbulent. The two wed in 1999 when they were both in their early 20s after meeting while filming the classic teen film, “Cruel Intentions.” They announced their divorce seven years later. While Phillippe, 50, has continued to work as an actor, his career in small films and streaming series has not achieved the heights of his ex-wife’s.
Now with Toth, Witherspoon has reportedly found someone who can match her ambition, but who also knows how to make plans for them to enjoy each other’s company, according to the Daily Mail. “All they do is have fun when they are not working and that is refreshing to her,” the Daily Mail source said. “She has already introduced Oliver to most of her friends and he has definitely been welcomed into her world. Everyone thinks she is madly in love.”