Olivia Wilde Denies Leaving Jason Sudeikis for Harry Styles: 'Our Relationship Was Over Long Before'
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Olivia Wilde is setting the record straight about her love life.
In a new cover story for Vanity Fair's October issue, Wilde, 38, spoke candidly about Harry Styles and how her relationship with ex Jason Sudeikis had ended before she and the musician got together.
"The complete horses--- idea that I left Jason for Harry is completely inaccurate," Wilde told the publication of rumors that she had left her ex-fiancé, 46, to date Styles, 28. "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 [COVID-19] pandemic," she continued. "We were raising two kids during lockdown, so we co-parented through that time."
Wilde added, "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."
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Emma Summerton/Vanity Fair Olivia Wilde for Vanity Fair
RELATED: Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde's Relationship Timeline
Wilde and Sudeikis began dating in 2011 and were engaged for several years, before PEOPLE reported in November 2020 that the couple had called it quits on their relationship.
"The split happened at the beginning of the year," a source close to the couple told PEOPLE at the time. "It's been amicable and they've transitioned into a great co-parenting routine. The children are the priority and the heart of the family's relationship."
Joe Maher/Getty; Frazer Harrison/Getty; John Shearer/Getty From left: Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Jason Sudeikis
While the pair have been embroiled in a legal battle pertaining to where they will parent their children — daughter Daisy, 5, and son Otis, 8 — Wilde told Vanity Fair that her two kids understand her situation with Sudeikis because she is "very up front" with them about it.
"They understand the concept of making decisions to protect yourself and to live an authentic, happy life. They really do," she explained.
"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," Wilde continued. "And sometimes when you evolve, you evolve out of relationships that were based on an earlier version of yourself."
RELATED VIDEO: How Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde's "Close Friendship" Quickly "Turned Romantic"
Sudeikis previously served Wilde custody papers onstage in the middle of a CinemaCon presentation back in April. Months later, Wilde successfully filed to dismiss Sudeikis' New York petition for custody of their two children, and in court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, the actress and director accused Sudeikis of "embarrass[ing] me professionally" and said his method of delivery was "aggressive."
Sudeikis reiterated in his own filing, reported DM, that he did not intend for Wilde to receive the papers onstage at CinemaCon, but instead requested that they be served at Heathrow Airport — and that plans to serve them at the hotel she was staying at for CinemaCon in Las Vegas went awry.
"I understand that the process server had only done her job; however, I deeply regret what happened," said the Ted Lasso star. "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."
Speaking about the ordeal with Vanity Fair, Wilde said, "In that moment, I had a job to do and I did my job. I was able to compartmentalize quite easily because I cared so deeply and the film was so much work."
"So many people were shocked on my behalf. Unfortunately, I wasn't that shocked," she added. "There's a reason that I didn't stay in that relationship. 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."
Emma Summerton/Vanity Fair Olivia Wilde for Vanity Fair
Though Wilde is currently in a relationship with Styles — whom she met in September 2020 while filming her soon-to-be-released thriller, Don't Worry Darling — the star told Vanity Fair that she has gotten comments thrown her way that aren't the most friendly, because of their pairing.
"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 explained.
Noting that people will think that she isn't paying attention to her two kids whenever she is around or photographed with the former One Direction member, Wilde told the publication that 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," she said. "But the judgment I've seen from people for living my life … "
Pointing to an instance where Wendy Williams chastised Wilde during a February 2021 segment on Williams' eponymous talk show — saying, in part, "You don't throw away your kids and your fiancé" — Wilde said, "It broke my heart, not because I care deeply about the opinion of Wendy Williams, but the applause from the audience made me sick."
"I was like, 'Why are these women finding pleasure in this moment? Is it because it somehow makes them feel better about their lives, judgments, and choices without ever wondering why I might have made those choices?' " she added.
