Olivia Wilde has spoken candidly about marrying Italian prince Tao Ruspoli when she was 19, looking back on a relationship that lasted six years.
During a recent appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, the actor and director revisited her early marriage to Ruspoli, whom she married in 2003 after only a short time together. The conversation was part of a wide-ranging interview in which Wilde also discussed her relationships with Jason Sudeikis and Harry Styles, as well as the scrutiny that followed them.
Wilde described the decision as a form of rebellion in her late teens, even though she recognized the contradiction in choosing something as conventional as marriage.
She explained:
“We did not have a very traditional marriage. It was very bohemian. And I am grateful for it because it meant that I spent most of my twenties [that way].”
The two ran off to marry at Burning Man and later completed paperwork in Los Angeles with someone they said they had found online, though Wilde suggested it may not even have been legally valid.
She recalled:
“And then, immediately, I was like, ‘Wait, what the f*** did I just do?’
Wilde said that kind of impulsiveness was already familiar to her at the time.
“Because I had a pattern already at that point of spontaneous decision making. And I think that is one of the beauties of youth, but I would get myself into a whole bunch of trouble all the time.”
Speaking further about the fast-moving romance, which began after they were introduced by a mutual family friend in Washington D.C., she said:
“It seemed like probably the craziest thing to do, and it was so romantic and insane.”
The marriage ended when Wilde was 25. She and Ruspoli announced their separation in February 2011, and the divorce was finalized later that same year.
Looking back, Wilde said the breakup was relatively peaceful and came down to the fact that both of them had changed.
“It was not a very tumultuous breakup. It was just like, this is clearly… we have grown up. We’re in very different stages of life.
“And it’s funny now. Like, we’re friends. I mean, it seems like 100,000 years ago, it’s crazy.”
Ruspoli is the second son of Prince Alessandro Ruspoli, the 9th Prince of Cerveteri, and actress Debra Berger.
Wilde also used the podcast appearance to discuss another high-profile romance: her relationship with Don’t Worry Darling co-star Harry Styles, including the criticism that surrounded their age difference.
She said:
“Oh man, I don’t know, it really did upset people though.
“It was crazy. I don’t know how much I understand it yet. That’s one of the factors that I never really felt like I fully… I don’t know.”