Reese Witherspoon struggles bringing up her young children in Los Angeles - because she is unable to rely on her parents for support.

The Legally Blonde star was raised in Nashville, Tennessee but moved to L.A. when her acting career took off in the 1990s.

She married actor Ryan Phillippe and the couple had two kids, Ava, 10, and six-year-old Deacon, before their split in 2006.

Witherspoon is now dating Jake Gyllenhaal - but the actress still finds it hard living so far away from her family.

She tells InStyle magazine, "Sometimes it's really difficult for me, being far away from home. I never imagined that my children wouldn't grow up next door to my brother's children. Or my mom and dad wouldn't constantly be around."

"I have a lot of Southern friends in L.A.; I gravitate toward them," she explains. "I think of those people as a part of my family: They take care of me and I take care of them."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)