Before Reese Witherspoon was involved in an accident Wednesday, she talked to Marie Claire about the traumatic time in her life when she underwent a divorce from Ryan Phillippe and had to be a single mother for 5 years.

“I was hard on myself when I got divorced. And until I got remarried, I don’t think I realized how stressed I was. I feel so much relief. I don’t think I recognized how anxious I was about being a single parent. It was really, really stressful. It’s not easy on anybody.”

Reese feels very lucky for having met and then married Hollywood talent agent Jim Toth in March because she was warned that she would never be able to remarry having had two kids.

“You know, somebody close to me once said, “Oh, no man will ever accept your children.’ And I just thought it was the most horrifying thing someone has ever said to me in my entire life,” says Reese.