Since their split, fans have wondered: Why did Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde break up? Was it because of Harry Styles or another reason?
Sudeikis and Wilde started dating in 2011 and got engaged in 2013. They welcomed their first child, a son named Otis, in 2014. Their second child, a daughter named Daisy, was born in 2016. After nine years of dating, news broke of Sudeikis and Wilde’s split in November 2020. At the time, there were reports that the former couple had been separated since the start of 2020, but in his interview with GQ, the Saturday Night Live alum maintained that he and the Her star really did in fact split in November 2020.
So what was the real reason why they split? Read more below to find out.
Why did Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde break up?
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Why did Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde break up? In an interview with GQ in July 2021, the Ted Lasso star broke his silence on his split with the Booksmart director and hinted that he was the one ultimately “responsible” for the end in their relationship—not Wilde’s new relationship with Harry Styles at the time. Styles and Wilde broke up in October 2022. “I’ll have a better understanding of why [it happened] in a year,” he said. “And an even better one in two, and an even greater one in five, and it’ll go from being, you know, a book of my life to becoming a chapter to a paragraph to a line to a word to a doodle.”
He continued, “That’s an experience that you either learn from or make excuses about. You take some responsibility for it, hold yourself accountable for what you do, but then also endeavor to learn something beyond the obvious from it.”
Sudeikis also told GQ that, while the past year as come with “personal stuff [and] professional stuff]” to deal with, he thinks”it was really neat” to be challenged. “I think if you have the opportunity to hit a rock bottom, however you define that, you can become 412 bones or you can land like an Avenger,” he said. “I personally have chosen to land like an Avenger. It doesn’t mean when you blast back up you’re not going to run into a bunch of shit and have to, you know, fight things to get back to the heights that you were at, but I’d take that over 412 bones anytime.”
He also told GQ that “there is power” in falling apart. “Because we all know that a bone, up to a certain age, when it heals, it heals stronger. So, I mean, it’s not to knock anybody that doesn’t land like an Avenger. Because there’s strength in that too,” he said.
Wilde also confirmed about the relationship running its course in an interview with Vanity Fair in September 2022. “The complete horses— idea that I left Jason for Harry is completely inaccurate,” said Wilde. “Our relationship was over long before I met Harry. “Like any relationship that ends, it doesn’t end overnight. Unfortunately, Jason and I had a very bumpy road, and we officially dissolved the relationship towards the beginning of the pandemic.”
“Once it became clear that cohabitating was no longer beneficial for the children, it became the responsible thing to not, because we could be better parents as friends who live in different houses,” she said of her custody battle of their kids. “I evolved a lot between when I was 27 and 35. I found myself as a director. And I think I found myself as an individual. And sometimes when you evolve, you evolve out of relationships that were based on an earlier version of yourself.”
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While on stage presenting Don’t Worry Darling in front of 3,000 audience members at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on April 27, 2022, Wilde was interrupted by a woman to give her a manila envelope labeled “Personal and Confidential.” “This is for me?” Wilde questioned, commenting about how the envelope was “very mysterious” before telling the crowd that she was “going to open it now because it feels like it’s a script.” When she opened the envelope and saw they were custody papers from Sudeikis, Wilde put the papers back in the envelope and said, “OK, got it. Thank you.” She continued her presentation on Don’t Worry Darling and didn’t talk about the envelope again.
In court documents obtained by Us Weekly on August 10, 2022, Jason wrote: “I did not want service to take place at the home of Olivia’s current partner because Otis and Daisy might be present,” referring to Styles at the time. “I did not want service to take place at the children’s school because parents might be present.” Sudeikis then apologized to Wilde for ruining her talk. “I understand that the process server had only done her job; however, I deeply regret what happened,” he said. “Olivia’s talk was an important event for Olivia, both professionally and personally, and I am very, very sorry that the incident marred her special moment.”
Weeks after the Tron: Legacy star reflected on the moment and how it was inappropriate. “To try to sabotage that was really vicious. But I had a job to do; I’m not easily distracted,” she told Variety in late August 2022. “But, you know, sadly, it was not something that was entirely surprising to me. I mean, there’s a reason I left that relationship.” Wilde expanded on the custody papers moment in more detail with Vanity Fair, saying it was behavior “consistent” in her knowledge of Sudeikis’ past behavior, as well as it being damaging to her children to see their mother so publicly humiliated. “Unfortunately, that was consistent with my experience of the relationship. So I was probably the least shocked. But I was also deeply saddened by it—and disturbed by it in lots of ways.” She continued, explaining that her being issued custody papers in such a way had to be premeditated for the amount of effort involved. “I know it took an extraordinary amount of energy [for the server] to get in that room. It took a tremendous amount of forethought,” she said. “And I will tell you, there are so many other ways to do that. I am not someone who lives in hiding. If that experience hadn’t been public, I never would have spoken of it, because I never would want my kids to know that happened. Unfortunately, they will know that happened.”
Wilde also talked about the public perception her relationship with the”Watermelon Sugar” singer had on her family. “I’ve had women judging me for separating from Jason. There are people who feel entitled to hurl horrendous insults at me and my family. Telling me I’m a terrible mother. Threatening me and my kids or saying I should lose my children.” She told the outlet people mistakenly assume that when she is photographed with Styles, she is neglecting her kids—but Sudeikis has equal custody. “When they are with their father, I trust him to be a great parent. So when they’re not with me, I continue to live my life. But the judgment I’ve seen from people for living my life…”
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