Actor Ryan Phillippe has reached a settlement with a model who alleged he assaulted her, days before his ex-wife Reese Witherspoon was set to appear at the trial.

Phillippe’s former girlfriend Elsie Hewitt accused the I Know What You Did Last Summer star of kicking and punching her, as well as throwing her down the stairs.

The 23-year-old sued him for one million US dollars (£789,000), filing the lawsuit in September 2017.

“The Importance of Being Earnest” Witherspoon
Ryan Phillippe has reached a settlement with a model who alleged he assaulted her, days before ex-wife Reese Witherspoon (pictured) was set to appear at the trial (PA)

The actor, 45, vehemently denied the allegations and the case was set to go to trial in Los Angeles next week.

Oscar-winning actress Witherspoon, who was married to Phillippe for eight years from 1999, had been called as a witness by Hewitt.

However, legal papers filed in a Los Angeles court reveal Phillippe came to a settlement with Hewitt on October 4. The case will officially be settled at a hearing next year.

Hewitt was 21 when she alleged Phillippe, then 43, assaulted her at his home in Los Angeles in July 2017.

In court papers, she said they had a physical altercation at his house in which he punched, kicked and pushed her down the stairs.

Phillippe denied the allegations and said they were “fabricated” to “extort” money from him.

The incident was reported to police but the investigation was closed in September 2017.

Phillippe rose to fame in the late 1990s with roles in films including I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions, and 54.

He has two children with Witherspoon, a son and a daughter, and a daughter with the actress Alexis Knapp.