Jason Sudeikis opened up about the communication failures that doomed his nine-year engagement to Olivia Wilde.
The “Ted Lasso” star, 51, told host Sam Fragoso on Sunday’s “Talk Easy” podcast that his biggest takeaway from the 2011-2020 relationship is the need for direct conversation. “I think it’s just flat-out communication,” he said. “I could have communicated better with how I felt, how things were making me feel [and] how things make me feel.”
Sudeikis explained that suppressing emotions only compounds problems rather than resolving them. “If I’m feeling a certain way and I don’t talk about it, that doesn’t make it go away,” he continued.
The actor broadened the lesson beyond romance, noting it was “unfair” to expect anyone to be a “mind reader.” “Whether that person be a partner or a boss at ‘SNL’ or a line producer for a television show,” he said. “It’s, like, ‘How do you convey those ideas quicker?'”
Sudeikis and Wilde, 41, met at a “Saturday Night Live” party in 2011, became engaged in 2013, and share two children: Otis Alexander, 12, and Daisy Josephine, 10. They separated in 2020 and have since emphasized amicable co-parenting.
When Fragoso asked whether he understands the breakup more clearly now, Sudeikis offered a mathematical formula for heartbreak. “It’s the old equation of heartbreak, or any variation of it, takes half as long as the process itself … to get over something, so if it were a 10-year relationship, five years would be 20/20,” he shared.
Despite the split, Sudeikis spoke warmly of Wilde’s professional abilities. “I’m thrilled for her, and I feel very fortunate doing what I’m supposed to be doing,” he said. “But going through all that has allowed me to see when other folks are going through something similar.”
Post-breakup, Sudeikis dated model Keeley Hazell from 2021 to 2022. Wilde’s romantic life drew heavier tabloid attention during her 2021-2022 relationship with Harry Styles, which began during production of her film “Don’t Worry Darling” and fueled widespread speculation that she had left Sudeikis for the pop star. She later dated actor and former basketball player Dane DiLiegro in 2025 before moving on with Casper Jopling.
Sudeikis did not directly address the Styles speculation during the podcast interview, keeping his remarks focused on self-improvement rather than assigning blame for the relationship’s end.
The “We’re the Millers” actor’s reflection arrives roughly five years after the separation, fitting his own timeline for gaining perspective on the nearly decade-long partnership.
