Ari Emanuel and Sarah Hardwick Addington | Source: Getty Images

Sarah Hardwick Addington Was Ari Emanuel's First Wife of over 20 Years

Oct 31, 2023

04:15 A.M.

Sarah Hardwick Addington was a significant but rarely visible part of celebrity businessman Ari Emanuel's life. She was his wife for over 20 years and became the mother of his three children. The year the couple divorced, Emanuel found new love.

On January 17, 2011, William Morris Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel attended a basketball game at Staples Center in Los Angeles to watch the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers battle for the winning title.

It was one of the rare occasions on which the businessman made a public appearance with a date. As he posed happily for a photo, next to him was a beautiful woman smiling as her now ex-husband leaned back with her arm wrapped around his shoulders.

Ari Emanuel and Sarah Addington attend a game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on January 17, 2011, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

She held a packet of popcorn in her other hand, wearing a white shirt, a matching hollow-out sweater, and black jeans with a silver necklace and hoops for jewelry. The woman's name is Sarah Hardwick Addington, and she was Emanuel's first wife.

Sarah Hardwick Addington: Ari Emanuel's First Wife Stayed Away from the Spotlight

Beyond her relationship with Emanuel, little information about Addington's life or career has been shared. She has been chiefly recognized as Emanuel's first wife. She married the esteemed Hollywood agent in 1996.

Sarah Addington and Ari Emanuel attend the Yesssss! MOCA Gala 2013, Celebrating the Opening of the Exhibition Urs Fischer, at MOCA Grand Avenue and The Geffen Contemporary on April 20, 2013, in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

The pair had three sons, whom they also raised away from the public eye. Emanuel rarely spoke of his first wife, but he mentioned her in 2009 ahead of his speech at the Friends Seminary on behalf of the NYU Child Study Center.

As child psychiatrist Harold Koplewicz introduced him, mentioning that he was "married to Sarah Addington," he interjected, "Sarah Emanuel. I negotiated that." Emanuel shared that he'd known Addington from Illinois but convinced her to go and stay with him in Los Angeles, as he joked:

"I called her every day for a year. I tell people I signed my wife."

Ari Emanuel and Sarah Addington arrive at the Oscars at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 24, 2013, in Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images

Sarah Hardwick Addington and Ari Emanuel Divorced in 2018

Addington and Emanuel had been separated for four years when Emanuel filed for divorce in late 2018. He cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for their split and requested joint custody of one of their sons, who was still a minor at the time.

The other two were already over the age of 18. In a response filed on the same day, Addington requested child support for their youngest. Similar to his relationship with Addington, Emanuel has hardly spoken about his sons; however, he once shared his thoughts on parenthood, saying:

"The two most important things parents can give their children are love and a good education."

Sarah Addington and Ari Emanuel attend SAKS FIFTH AVENUE'S 'UNFORGETTABLE EVENING' Benefiting Entertainment Industry Foundation's (EIF) Women's Cancer Research Fund at Beverly Wilshire Hotel on February 20, 2008, in Beverly Hills, California. | Source: Getty Images

Ari Emanuel Found New Love and Remarried

Emanuel, known for having represented big names like Martin Scorsese and Larry David, met fashion designer and entrepreneur Sarah Staudinger in 2018 through a business associate. The couple dated for three years before becoming engaged.

They tied the knot in a three-day wedding held at St.Tropez, France, in mid-2022. David officiated the ceremony, which was also attended by Tyler Perry, Emily Ratajkowski, and Diplo, who served as one of the DJs.