Ryan's Daughter Helps Him Through the Divorce with Reese

In his first interview since his split from actress Reese Witherspoon over four months ago, Breach star Ryan Phillippe is speaking out on The Ellen DeGeneres Show about the end of his seven-year marriage and how he's dealt with the pain.

"It’s devastating," Phiippe tells DeGeneres on an episode airing Friday. "But the bottom line is the focus is on the children and they’re doing amazingly well and that is really all that matters."

Phillippe, who has continued to work since the split, says he owes all his strength to one woman and one woman only: his daughter Ava.

"As difficult as it is, my daughter has been the inspiration — she has, my 7 year old daughter is Ava yeah, she is beyond, in terms of like conscientiousness and maturity, and she has gotten me thru this...I know it sounds pathetic, I’m a 32-year-old guy, but my 7-year-old daughter is getting me thru the toughest time in my life, and that’s beautiful too."

Ryan Phillippe "This is the most difficult time in my Life"

Three months after his split from Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Phillippe says, "This is the most difficult time in my life." "I must stay focused on my kids," Phillippe, 32, tells TV's Extra in an interview airing this week. Witherspoon filed for divorce on Nov. 8, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple were married for seven years and have two children: Ava, 7, and Deacon, 3. Asked if he's distracted himself with his work during this tough time, the Flags of Our Fathers star answers: "I have not found balance in my life yet."

Going through a break-up in the public eye makes things harder, he says: "It's unfortunate when you have kids ... but I signed up for this and have to deal with it. I don't read the magazines or watch the shows. ... It's hard when people follow me to my kid's school."

In his first public words about the split, Phillippe told PEOPLE in November: "I'm not a perfect person, but I'm not guilty of a lot of the things I have been accused of. My priority is and always has been the health and safety of my family."

Phillippe would not comment on reports that a relationship with Abbie Cornish – the Australian actress who costars with him in an upcoming film – played a role in the demise of his marriage. But his reps vehemently denied other allegations of hard partying and drug use.

On Saturday, at a press event for his new movie Breach, Phillippe told reporters that, despite his personal turmoil, he's at a high point professionally. "I acknowledge that the successes and the opportunities I've had recently have been the best of my career," he said. "I've got to say it's the last thing on my mind right now, considering what I'm going through in my personal life, but I definitely appreciate the opportunities." But now, he said, he's ready to focus on his family: "I did three movies in the last year and a half and I'm going to take a good long break and be a dad. So that's No. 1 on my mind right now."

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