Olivia Wilde was awkwardly served with custody papers on stage

Earlier this week, Olivia Wilde unveiled the trailer for her highly anticipated 1950s thriller Don’t Worry Darling. Fans of CinemaCon in Las Vegas were not only lucky enough to be the first to see the sultry trailer starring Florence Pugh and Wilde’s beau Harry Styles, but also to hear Wilde talk about her second feature film.

Unfortunately, the Book Smart director’s presentation, who should have enjoyed promoting her second film after such a successful directorial debut, was cut short when a man unceremoniously shuffled a Manila envelope on stage.

The mysterious envelope marked “Personal and Confidential” was anything but in this scenario. Wilde, who’s badass as she is, reportedly didn’t let the move deter her as she picked it up, peeked inside, sealed the envelope and continued promoting her work by saying Don’t Worry Darling “a love is letter to films that push the limits of our imagination.”

It later emerged that the papers were not a Specified Screenplay by a hopeful screenwriter, as some have speculated. They were custody papers from her ex, Jason Sudeikis.

Wilde and the Ted Lasso star first started dating in 2011 and got engaged two years later. The couple remained engaged until their final split in November 2020. They share two children, Otis, 8, and Daisy Josephine, 5.

While neither Wilde’s nor Sudeikis’ representatives have commented on the poorly timed delivery of legal documents, a source told Variety that Sudeikis had “no prior knowledge” of how or when the legal documents would be delivered and shifted the blame to the processing service .

“Papers have been drawn up to establish jurisdiction over Ms. Wilde and Mr. Sudeikis’ children,” the source said. “Mr. Sudeikis had no prior knowledge of the time or place the envelope would have been delivered, as that would be solely a matter for the process service company involved, and he would never allow it to be delivered to her in such an inappropriate manner.”

That notion is at odds with what David Glass, a Southern California family law attorney, told People. How a process server delivers legal documents depends on the direction of the client’s attorney. However, Glass also noted that attorneys often ask their clients where the other party will be located.

“We always start with the easiest place and try to do it at a time when the kids aren’t around,” Glass told People. “In fact, most of the time, before I even approach a process server, I email the counterparty and attach all the documents to say, ‘Please give this to your lawyer and have him get in touch with me. ‘ “

Process servers usually come into this mix when this method didn’t work. They need to be publicly delivered to newspapers — and deliver them directly to the party in question — but it doesn’t have to be in front of an entire audience of your peers and admirers.

As Deadline notes, in order to attend the convention as an outsider, you had to purchase a ticket, suggesting that this very public delivery was orchestrated somewhat in advance.

The pair are reportedly amicable and work together as co-parents, but their split has had its rough edges. The couple announced their split shortly after Wilde met her new boyfriend, Harry Styles, on the set of their movie — and Sudeikis told People he was “absolutely heartbroken.” At the same time, Wilde is said to be very happy and in love with her new boyfriend.

Aside from speculation and odd vibes that Ted Lasso might not be such a great guy, we’re hoping the two are able to work out a custody system that works for their entire family. And if you haven’t already, check out the teaser trailer for Don’t Worry Darling below.

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