Celebrating her big day! Olivia Wilde praised her children after they surprised her with gifts and birthday balloons.
“Came home way past curfew to this,” the director, 39, captioned an Instagram Story on Thursday, March 9, of the colorful decorations. Wilde also joked about getting “a test” from her kids in the form of an envelope, which read, “To mommy from your favorite child.”
The actress first became a parent when she and then-fiancé Jason Sudeikis welcomed son Otis in April 2014. They later expanded their family in October 2016 with daughter Daisy.
Us Weekly confirmed in November 2020 that the pair called it quits after nearly a decade together. Wilde moved on with her Don’t Worry Darling costar Harry Styles. Amid her new romance, the House alum and Sudeikis, 47, ended up in a messy custody battle for their kids.
Wilde broke her silence about the challenges of coparenting with an ex after she was publicly served legal documents at a professional event.
“The only people who suffered were my kids, because they’ll have to see that, and they shouldn’t ever have to know that happened,” she told Variety in August 2022, four months after the documents were handed to her onstage at CinemaCon. “For me, it was appalling, but the victims were an 8 and 5 year-old, and that’s really sad. I chose to become an actress. I willingly walked into the spotlight. But it’s not something my children have asked for. And when my kids are dragged into it, it’s deeply painful.”
Wilde continued: “I hated that this nastiness distracted from the work of so many different people and the studio that I was up there representing. To try to sabotage that was really vicious. But I had a job to do; I’m not easily distracted. But, you know, sadly, it was not something that was entirely surprising to me. I mean, there’s a reason I left that relationship.”
The Ted Lasso star, for his part, offered his side of the story in response to Wilde’s custody motion. “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,” Sudeikis stated in the legal paperwork, noting that he didn’t want to deliver the documents to his kids’ school or to Styles’ home in case their children “might be present.”
The New York native, who called it quits with Styles, 29, in November 2022, previously slammed negative comments about her parenting.
“The last two years, my family has gone through this kind of restructuring and a revolution that should be a totally personal experience,” she added during her interview with Variety. “And it’s not. The most painful element of it has been women shaming me for making a decision that was for my own health and happiness.”
Wilde discussed the choices she made to prioritize her kids — including taking fewer jobs. “It became clear to me that this year was a time for me to be a stay-at-home mom,” she continued. “It was not the year for me to be on a set, which is totally all-encompassing. It was time for me to pause and devote myself to the kids when I have them.”
Earlier this month, Sudeikis offered an update on how he and Wilde have raised their kids to choose a career they love.
“They know [Ted Lasso cocreators] Brendan [Hunt] and Joe [Kelly] real well, and so they see how much we hang out, and laugh and enjoy each other’s company,” he told Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, March 7. “Not many of us get the opportunity to find a job where you have so much fun doing it. And if that’s the example that myself and Olivia, provide for them, then I’m happy about that. It doesn’t have to be in this business necessarily … Daisy wants to be about 10 different things.”
