Amid a contentious custody battle, Sudeikis reportedly said he's "very, very sorry" about the manner in which his ex was served.
Olivia Wilde is firing back after she was served custody papers from ex Jason Sudeikis on stage at CinemaCon in April, according to a new report. In sealed court filings obtained by The Daily Mail, the director accuses her children's father of malice with the highly public legal move.
"Jason's actions were clearly intended to threaten me and catch me off guard," Wilde reportedly says in the new documents. "He could have served me discreetly, but instead he chose to serve me in the most aggressive manner possible."
Wilde was infamously interrupted on-stage in Las Vegas during a presentation for her thriller, Don't Worry Darling, in front of thousands of film industry executives, when a process server approached the stage to slide her a mysterious manila envelope labeled, "personal and confidential." Sudeikis claims to have been unaware of the manner in which the papers would eventually be served.
"The fact that Jason would embarrass me professionally and put our personal conflict on public display in this manner is extremely contrary to our children's best interests," Wilde continues. "Since Jason has made it clear that we will not be able to work this out for our children's sake outside of the court system, I filed a petition for custody in Los Angeles."
Sudeikis and Wilde began dating in 2011 and became engaged a year later. They went on to have two children -- son Otis, 8, and daughter Daisy, 5 -- before ending their relationship in November 2020. They never married.
Sudeikis was previously linked to his Ted Lasso co-star Keeley Hazell, while Wilde is now dating the star of her upcoming film Harry Styles.
Now, what was said to once an amicable co-parenting and custody arrangement between the exes has turned litigious over disagreements regarding where to raise their children.
According to Wilde's motion to dismiss the action from Sudeikis, Daily Mail reports, the former couple and their children had all been living in London since December 2021. But Sudeikis planned to return to New York City in the summer when he completed work on his Apple TV series, Ted Lasso, and hoped to bring the children with him.
"When I did not agree, since the children have not lived in New York for several years, Jason filed these papers," Wilde says, noting that they had initially agreed to send their children back to school in Los Angeles for the upcoming school year. In his own declaration to the court, Sudeikis adds that Wilde disclosed to him her plans to move to London at the end of next year.
"First, Olivia said that if I did not reside full-time in Los Angeles, she would allow me to spend time with Otis and Daisy on weekends and during vacation periods -- thus depriving me of my right to parent the children during important periods of their lives," Sudeikis claims. "Second, Olivia said that she intended to relocate with the children to London following the close of school in 2023."
Sudeikis says he was "fearful" that Wilde would "take Otis and Daisy" from him and, in that moment, asked his attorney to serve the summons and petition to Wilde as she was scheduled to travel to Los Angeles the next morning. He claims to have requested that the papers be served at Heathrow Airport.
"I did not want service to take place at the home of Olivia's current partner because Otis and Daisy might be present," he says, referencing Styles' London residence, where Wilde was said to be living. "I did not want service to take place at the children's school because parents might be present."
Sudeikis adds that he only learned about the incident at CinemaCon after it made headlines, claiming to be "deeply upset" and "feel great distress" by the turn of events.
"I understand that the process server had only done her job; however, I deeply regret what happened," he says. "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."
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