Ryan Phillippe Credits Daughter with Helping Him Through Divorce

Ryan Phillippe says that the person helping him get through the breakup of his marriage is his daughter Ava.

"Going through something like this, as difficult as it is, my daughter has been the inspiration – my 7-year-old daughter Ava," Phillippe says on Friday's episode of the Ellen DeGeneres show.

He describes his daughter as beyond her years in "conscientiousness and maturity."

He goes on to say, "I know it sounds pathetic – I'm a 32-year-old guy, but my 7-year-old daughter is getting me through the toughest time in my life, and that's beautiful too."

When asked about how his three year old son is dealing with the divorce, Ryan says: "He's all right, you know. I mean, 3-year-olds – he's fun, every day he says something that makes me laugh, warms my heart. They're hanging in there. It ain't easy."

"It's devastating," Phillippe says, "but the bottom line is the focus is on the children, and they're doing amazingly well and that's really all that matters."

Source: PEOPLE