Olivia Wilde Had Mortifying Interaction With Tom Cruise After Ex Jason Sudeikis Served Her Custody Papers in Las Vegas

Olivia Wilde is looking back on one of the most uncomfortable experiences of her career.

During the Wednesday, June 17, episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, the actress and director opened up about the moment she was served legal papers while presenting onstage at CinemaCon amid her split from Jason Sudeikis.

While the incident made headlines at the time, Wilde admitted she was stunned when she realized just how far the story had spread.

A few months after the highly publicized moment, Wilde crossed paths with Tom Cruise — and he immediately referenced the incident.

“‘Hi, I’m Tom. F----- up what happened to you in Vegas.’ And I was like, ‘No!’” she recalled of their interaction.

Looking back, Wilde described the experience as one of the most stressful moments she has ever faced professionally.

Wilde called the CinemaCon incident “f----- up” and “incredibly traumatizing,” especially because it happened in front of some of the entertainment industry's most influential executives, theater owners and members of the press.

“That room couldn’t have been higher stress. The people in that room at CinemaCon are … it’s all the studio people. It’s all the people you were trying to impress the most with your work and all the exhibitors, the people at the movie theaters, the people you need to sell your movies, and all the press. And it was like, ‘I cannot f------ believe this is happening to me here.’ And yet, you know, the crazy thing is, like, once you make it through things like that, you kinda feel like you can make it through anything,” she said, adding that once she made it backstage, she “completely dissolved” into a puddle of tears.

Wilde and Sudeikis ended their seven-year relationship in 2020 after years together and two children, Otis Alexander and Daisy Josephine.

During her conversation with Alex Cooper, Wilde shared the moment she realized their relationship had reached a breaking point. She said it happened shortly after her birthday on March 10, 2020.

“Jason and I had been having a rough time there for a while,” she explained. “We had a real bumpy, bumpy ride and we were driving home from my birthday party my friends had had, and I said, ‘Did you give me a birthday present?’ And he said, ‘What would I get you, Olivia? I don’t know you.’ And he wasn’t wrong. We didn’t know each other anymore.”

Following the split, Wilde said she noticed a stark difference in how the public reacted to her and Sudeikis.

She recalled spending Thanksgiving at home with their children while photos of Sudeikis enjoying a beach getaway circulated online.

"Jason was photographed with his girlfriend on the beach and the press were like, 'Yay for him. He looks so happy,'" she remembered. "And I was like, if I were away from my children on a national holiday, walking on a beach ….. it’d be like, just burn her at the stake now."

The actress argued that the response would have been very different if the roles had been reversed.

"Take the kids away from her forever and burn her to the ground," she added. "The double standard … It was nuts."

The former couple's breakup was followed by a highly publicized custody dispute.

According to People, Wilde alleged that Sudeikis was attempting to "litigate her into debt" and "embarrass [her] professionally."

"Jason's actions were clearly intended to threaten me and catch me off guard," Wilde allegedly wrote in legal documents at the time. "He could have served me discreetly, but instead, he chose to serve me in the most aggressive manner possible."

The custody matter was ultimately resolved in 2023, with Wilde ordered to pay $27,000 per month in child support.

Despite the challenges they faced, Wilde said she and Sudeikis have found a healthy rhythm as coparents and continue to share custody of their children.

She explained that the arrangement has changed her perspective on parenting and allowed both parents to be fully present during their time with the kids.

"It's an interesting thing," she told Cooper. "Once you are sharing custody with someone, it shifts the way you think about parenting. I really value the opportunity to be completely present with them and then to hand them off to a very capable co-parent."