Olivia Wilde hits back at claims she “abandoned” her children

She's setting the record straight.

Olivia Wilde has shut down claims that she "abandoned" her two children after sparking up a relationship with Harry Styles. Speaking about motherhood in an interview with Elle Magazine, the actress and director set the record straight when it came to her children. Olivia shares eight-year-old son Otis and six-year-old daughter Daisy with ex Jason Sudeikis. People have criticised Olivia recently as she is often not pictured with her children since her relationship with the singer began. “I share custody of my kids with my ex,” she said. “If I’m photographed not with my kids, people assume I have abandoned them, like my kids are just somewhere in a hot car without me. The suggestion is that I have abandoned my role as a mother.” Admitting she prefers to keep her children out of the public eye, Olivia continued: "You know why you don’t see me with my kids? Because I don’t let them get photographed. Do you know the lengths that I go to to protect my kids from being seen by you?” She went on to say that she experiences extreme scrutiny on social media due to her family life, especially since she was given custody papers by Sudeikis while on stage at CinemaCon in April this year. After splitting up in November 2020, Jason said he was unaware of how Olivia would be served the custody papers and was "deeply upset" by how it was done. Previously speaking on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Olivia clarified that she always puts her children first despite comments made online. “My priority is them,” she told the host. “That’s what it is. It’s as long as they’re happy and they’re healthy then, my ex and I, we agree on that. They are everything to us.”