Phillippe and costar Abbie Cornish (on the set of their upcoming drama) were linked by blogs after filming together. Photo by: Marcel Thomas / FilmMagic
Reese & Ryan: End of the Line| Ryan Phillippe
But there have also long been rumors of trouble on the homefront. After the couple announced their split, Phillippe’s friendship with Abbie Cornish, 24, an Australian actress whom he met in Austin, Texas, while filming an upcoming drama about Iraq War vets, became the subject of intense speculation. Phillippe’s camp did not respond to reports that he and Cornish had shared a private dinner at Austin’s Kenichi restaurant while filming. And during a recent interview with Who magazine, People’s Australian sister publication, the actress became testy when asked if she knew Phillippe and Witherspoon had split. “I’m not aware of that,” Cornish said. “I don’t want to go into that because it’s probably a very personal thing.” Staffers at Kenichi confirm that Phillippe did dine with a woman he described as “my costar,” but that nothing out of the ordinary happened. “They sat at the table alone together,” says one. “We put up a partition to give them privacy.” When Phillippe came into the restaurant, says another, “he was extremely respectful, super classy.”