If you were married to Idris Elba wouldn’t you want the world to know? A 44 year old Maryland woman says she and Idris were secretly married in 2006, but the world did not know about it until now. In an interview with The Mail, Sonya Hamlin reveals how she met Idris, how they eloped in Vegas and how he broke her heart.
Hamlin tells how she met Idris Elba when he was working on the set of ‘The Wire’.
I didn’t really know who he was. My friend just said he was a really nice guy. He wasn’t a superstar back then. Living in Maryland I was vaguely familiar with The Wire, but I didn’t know who he was. We met at a crowded gathering with a few other people. But we hit it off. We meshed very well. He’s not shy and neither am I, and we fell very much in love with each other. We went on normal dates – dinner, movies – and we used to have fun in the house. We used to co-ordinate our outfits when we dressed. And he was a very good cook. If we woke on a Sunday morning we might go out to brunch, or stay at home and make breakfast. Idris loved eggs and porridge, or would cook Jamaican food: he loved aki and saltfish.
‘He’s a homebody. He didn’t like to be out at night. He loves to watch TV, and listen to music. We were very casual. We’d lounge around in jeans and a T-shirt.
Hamlin says when they eloped it wasn’t planned.
We didn’t go to Vegas with plans on getting married. We were just chilling on sun-loungers early in the day by the pool. I was drinking a Mimosa, and we were talking, and were both in a great mood. We had talked about marriage before and how we would want to keep it plain and simple. We had been together several months already, and knew it was right. We were both madly in love by then, and we were like, “Let’s just do it!” We were both excited. It was a mutual decision. As far as we were concerned, we were going to spend the rest of our lives together. He got me a beautiful diamond ring. We picked it and it was not cheap. He was generous.’
It took several hours before we made it there, but neither of us was nervous. When you have that chemistry and you’re that much in love, why would you be nervous?
Hamlin says the fact she was a successful attorney and Idris was really just getting his career off the ground back then was a problem for his camp.
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. It was hard. He’s prideful. 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.
According to Hamlin, Idris allowed people to persuade him into divorcing her because a married man was not what fans wanted. So after 6 weeks, he decided he needed to file for divorce.
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. It wasn’t easy for either of us,’ Sonya continues. ‘We sat down here in Maryland and decided we were going to file. We wavered a couple of times. We were both just sad. He hugged me, of course. It was very sad.
Sonya says while Idris went on to have a flourishing career, her career did the opposite thanks to the recession.
There was no certainty that he was going to go on and be a big star, and he had a daughter to provide for, and maybe he had to make the tough decision. He was protective of me, but he listened to people in his ear. He was the love of my life. I was always successful, and so having a failed marriage was hard, and then my business took a huge plunge in the recession. It was a double-whammy for me. I didn’t date anybody for years.
Sonya doesn’t believe he genuinely loved K. Michelle or his most recent ex-girlfriend and mother of his 2 year old son Naiyana Garth.
Maybe anything after that wasn’t genuine, otherwise he would have married them. I’d be happy for him if he got married again, and he genuinely loved that person. I’m not a jealous person. I want him to be happy, just like I’m sure he wants me to be happy. I don’t think he’s ever going to have a problem being lonely.
Hamlin says she has no hard feelings for Elba and thinks he has an Oscar coming his way.
He’s the best actor you have in Britain, and will probably be the next James Bond, and he’s won awards and Emmys,’ she says, though in reality Elba has earned four Emmy nominations without a win. ‘He’s got an Oscar coming, no question.
Idris had to choose between his two loves, and he chose his first love….his career. I wonder what made her come out with this story after all this time.
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