Celebrities, Romance and Dating

Idris Elba's Attorney Ex-Wife Speaks About Her Broken Heart

Most of the world has a crush on Idris Elba, and this lawyer married him.

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(Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

(Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

You probably have a crush on Idris Elba. I say that because most of the world has a crush on the man. And it’s not hard to see why, he’s incredibly talented — his television work on The Wire, The Office, and Luther has been lauded and his film work, including, American Gangster, Thor, and Prometheus, has been outstanding, with his name being batted around to play James Bond. And he is easy on the eyes, very easy.

While his acting career seems to be on an upward trajectory, his love life has been decidedly more rocky. He recently broke up with his longtime girlfriend, with whom he has a child, and before that he has two divorces on his record. Now his second ex-wife, Maryland attorney Sonya Hamlin, is talking about her relationship with the star.

Sonya HamlinHamlin, who up until recently tweeted under the handle @blasianlawyer13, cached version available here, married Elba in 2006 and the pair were only married for a few weeks before his career aspirations began to tear the couple apart. Hamlin tells the Daily Mail:

‘People were telling him he was going to ruin his career,’ she says. ‘He was being told it was an important part of his image to be a single sex symbol in Hollywood and being married would damage that.
‘It was very sad. Idris and I were madly in love, but he was getting a lot of flak for being married. Everyone was like, “Dude, you’re the hottest sex symbol!”

‘“It wasn’t the right look”, that’s what they were telling him. I wanted to save the marriage.’

But more than just being held back by a generic ball and chain, their marriage was also strained by her legal career. Hamlin is a property attorney in Maryland, not in a position to follow her man across the country as he tried to launch his movie career:

‘I had a flourishing law practice and it was the height of the real estate boom, and he was making the transition into the movie industry,’ she says. ‘It was hard.’

Though Sonya was the breadwinner, Elba refused to exploit her. ‘He’s prideful,’ she says. ‘He wasn’t a kept man – he wouldn’t let me keep him. He’d whip out his wallet and pay for anything. He’d spend his last penny on me. He’s a man’s man.’

But the pressure on their new marriage was intense, and Elba felt the pull of Hollywood, while Sonya was tied to her law practice in Maryland and could not uproot it to be with her husband in California.

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It also seems Hamlin just didn’t fit the image of celebrity arm candy, and that didn’t sit right with some in Elba’s inner circle:

Yet the truth may also more hurtful. She [Hamlin] believes Elba was also swayed by friends who felt that he should have a bombshell young starlet by his side, rather than a property lawyer, however attractive.

Only six weeks after tying the knot, Elba decided he wanted to end it all. Sonya sighs: ‘Some people used to say, “Why her?” That’s what they were telling him. It used to upset him. He was like, “Why don’t people just let me be happy?”

‘I couldn’t understand how it would damage his career because I saw actors like Denzel [Washington] be successfully married. But I don’t think those actors’ wives are running law firms.’

After six weeks as husband and wife, the two called it quits. In her interview, Hamlin calls Elba the love of her life, and says she was heartbroken over the split. Now, ten years after the brief marriage, Hamlin wishes Elba the best in love and in his career. And she says she’s moved on as well, with a good relationship and a thriving legal practice.

My secret marriage to Idris… who broke my heart to be a heart-throb: We loved each other, reveals the US lawyer who became star’s second wife… but he was told to dump me to save his career [Daily Mail]

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Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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