Olivia Wilde wins first custody battle against Jason Sudeikis in divorce battle that started with Olivia being served papers in public

Olivia Wilde and ex Jason Sudeikis are in the midst of a custody battle over kids Otis and Daisy

Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis
(Image credit: Taylor Hill / Contributor)

Things are not going great between exes Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis, who are currently in a custody battle concerning their two children Otis, who is 8 years old, and Daisy Josephine, who is 5 years old.

As former fans of the couple may remember, Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis broke up in 2020 after ten years together and Olivia is now reportedly dating Harry Styles.

On April 26 of this year, Olivia was infamously served custody papers while giving a public talk on stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. The episode was caught on camera and, since then, Jason went on the record to say that he wasn't aware of what was going to happen and was "deeply upset" about the public nature of the occurrence.

"I understand that the process server had only done her job; however, I deeply regret what happened," Jason said publicly about the turn of events. "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."

In October 2021, 46-year-old Jason filed the lawsuit in New York City Family Court, asking for his two children to be able to stay with him in Brooklyn. Olivia, on the other hand, wanted them to live with her in Los Angeles and potentially re-locating to London, where Harry now lives. Yesterday, a New York judge dismissed the case, effectively awarding Olivia a win after ruling that California should be considered the kids' home state.

Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis

(Image credit: Kyle Rivas / Contributor)

"New York was not the home state of the subject children," reads the legal filing that was reviewed by Page Six. "California was the children's home state. [...] Therefore, for the reasons stated on the record on July 15, 2022, respondent's motion to dismiss the custody petitions filed on October 21, 2021 is granted."

What that ultimately means is that the custody battle will carry on in California. 

According to the Daily Mail, the former couple initially separated amicably but the situation changed when 38-year-old Olivia revealed she was exploring the idea of moving to London with the kids. 

The outlet reports that, in her motion to dismiss the action, Olivia explained that her and Jason had initially agreed to send the children to school in Los Angeles starting this September since their father was just about to wrap up the final season of Apple TV's Ted Lasso in London. 

"Recently, however, Jason decided that he wanted to go to New York for the next year while he is not working, and wanted the children to be with him there during this time off," reads the filing by Olivia, according to the Daily Mail. "When I did not agree, since the children have not lived in New York for several years, Jason filed these papers"

In her court motion, Olivia also reportedly publicly addressed the CinemaCon incident for the first time. 

"Jason's actions were clearly intended to threaten me and catch me off guard," she claimed in the document. "He could have served me discreetly, but instead he chose to serve me in the most aggressive manner possible. 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. 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."

For his part, Jason mentioned the fact that, when still together, the couple spent most of their time in New York, where both children were born, and even bought a home in Brooklyn together back in 2014. 

Anna Rahmanan

Anna Rahmanan is a New York-based writer and editor who covers culture, entertainment, food, fashion and travel news. Anna’s words have appeared on Time Out New York, the Huffington Post, Fortune, Forbes, Us Weekly, Bon Appetit and Brooklyn Magazine, among other outlets.