For Olivia Wilde, the realization that her nearly decade-long relationship with Jason Sudeikis had reached its end did not come during a dramatic argument or a sudden breakup. Instead, it happened during a quiet conversation after her birthday celebration in March 2020.
© GettyAppearing on the June 17 episode of 'Call Her Daddy 'with Alex Cooper, the actress and director reflected on the painful turning point that ultimately led to the end of her engagement to the father of her two children.
While discussing her upcoming film 'The Invite,' Wilde explained that her personal experiences heavily influenced the story's exploration of relationships and emotional distance.
"It's no surprise to me that I ended up making a movie about relationships and the complexity of determining whether a relationship is over, because it is not an overnight process. It's very difficult. And the idea that relationships can come to a place where you become strangers."
© GettyAccording to Wilde, that theme became deeply personal on her birthday, March 10, 2020.
“Jason and I had been having a rough time there for a while,” she shared. “We had a real bumpy, bumpy ride, and we were driving home from my birthday party my friends had had, and I said, ‘Did you give me a birthday present?’ And he said, ‘What would I get you, Olivia? I don't know you.’ And he wasn't wrong. We didn't know each other anymore.”The moment became one of the inspirations behind 'The Invite':
“This is the thing that made me wanna make this movie because — or one of the things — because you can get to a place in a relationship where you stop engaging in the knowing of each other, in the curiosity about each other, and you find yourself in a place where you're like, ‘I don't even know you.’ And that was a point, that was when we realized it was over. And it was f—ing tough, and it brought us to the place of like, okay, this is done. We're gonna end this.”
The difficult timing of their divorce
The timing made an already difficult situation even more complicated. Wilde revealed that only days after they reached that conclusion, the world shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Literally two days later,” lockdown began, forcing the former couple to navigate the early stages of their separation while continuing to live under the same roof.
© VarietyWilde and Sudeikis, who began dating in 2011 and share two children, son Otis, 12, and daughter Daisy, 9, publicly confirmed their split later that year.
Although the breakup attracted significant public attention, Wilde says they have since found a successful rhythm as co-parents.
“You can create a dynamic that allows that kid to have the maximum amount of love,” she said. “I mean, we are great f—ing co-parents. These kids are consistently getting the best of us in a way that when we were together, it was not possible because we did not work together, but we work really well as separated co-parents.”
One of her most "traumatizing" moments: Elsewhere in the interview, Wilde also reflected on one of the most public moments of their post-split legal battle. Being served custody-related paperwork while presenting at CinemaCon in 2022.
The filmmaker described the incident as “really traumatizing,” recalling how she accepted an envelope marked "personal and confidential" before continuing her presentation for 'Don't Worry Darling.'
© Getty"I will never forget one of the most f---ed up things I went through, among so many, was that I was served papers on stage,” Wilde said.
She explained that after finishing her speech, she broke down backstage and initially believed the incident had gone unnoticed because phones were not allowed inside the event.
That assumption quickly proved wrong. “A couple months later, I had the chance [to meet] Tom Cruise, and he was like, ‘Hi, I’m Tom. F---ed up what happened to you in Vegas,” she remembered. “I was like, ‘No!’”Despite the highly public nature of the incident, Wilde said Sudeikis has maintained that he did not know where or when the papers would be served.
© Deadline"Jason has told me that he did not know, and I need to believe that to continue [our coparenting relationship],” Wilde said. “I think that lawyers can be super f---ed up and do f---ed up things."
Today, however, Wilde says the focus remains firmly on their children and the healthy co-parenting relationship they have built since ending their romance.
© Getty“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to have this space with my kids when I am completely with my kids, completely engaged with them,” she said.
“I really value the opportunity to be completely present with them and then to hand them off to a very capable co-parent who is very present with them when he’s with them, and then I have this space which is permission to go work my f--king ass off.”
