Olivia Wilde has insisted 'there was a reason' for her leaving her relationship with long-term partner Jason Sudeikis in November 2020.
The Hollywood actress and director, 38, who is now dating pop superstar Harry Styles, 28, is currently locked in a custody battle regarding where to raise their two children, following their bitter split.
In recent court filings, it is alleged the two stars are clashing over Olivia's plans to relocate to London in 2023 with their children Otis, eight, and Daisy, five.
Olivia was handed custody papers by her ex-husband and father of her children, while on stage promoting her new film Don't Worry Darling back in April.
The actress and film director, was mid-presentation when she reportedly received the legal documents from Jason - best known for starring in Ted Lasso.
Jason reportedly hired a process server to hand crucial documents over to Olivia concerning their two young children.
Olivia has now addressed the awkward situation in a new interview where she said it felt like her former partner tried to 'sabotage' her.
“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," she told Variety.
“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. 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," she continued.
However, allegedly Jason did not know she would be served the papers in such a public and humiliating way, PageSix reported after pictures of the actress reading the papers on stage went viral.
A source told PageSix at the time: "Papers were drawn up to establish jurisdiction relating to the children of Ms. Wilde and Mr. Sudeikis.
"Mr. Sudeikis had no prior knowledge of the time or place that the envelope would have been delivered as this would solely be up to the process service company involved and he would never condone her being served in such an inappropriate manner."
The Mirror has reached out to Jason and Olivia's representatives for further comment.
