Exes Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis are coming together to defend themselves against allegations made by their children's former nanny, who made headlines after giving a tell-all interview to the Daily Mail about the exes' tumultuous relationship. (Sudeikis and Wilde issued a joint statement denying "false and scurrilous accusations.") But all the Internet seems to care about is some salad dressing. Allow us to explain.
While the one-time caregiver to the former couple's two—Otis, 8, and daughter Daisy, 4—shared details about the dramatic end to Sudeikis and Wilde's 10-year partnership, including that the Ted Lasso star was heartbroken after allegedly finding text messages between Wilde and now-boyfriend Harry Styles on her Apple Watch, there was one key element to her story that people became fixated on: A salad dressing.
The former employee alleged that Sudeikis once laid under Wilde's car during an argument to prevent her from leaving to bring a homemade meal to Styles. The nanny told Daily Mail, "Out of everything, he was like, 'She made her special salad dressing and took it to him.'"
While there's undoubtedly a lot to unpack about this entire situation, the biggest question of all, obviously, is: What makes this particular dressing so special?! In pursuit of a well-seasoned bowl of greens, we accepted the mission to discover Wilde's headline-making concoction.
Lettuce us share Wilde's salad recipe (at least one of them, anyway), along with nine other celebrities' favorite bowls of greens, including the go-to mixes for Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston and Kate Middleton:
After the Daily Mail published a tell-all interview with Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde's former nanny, in which she claimed Wilde once left the Ted Lasso star in order to bring a salad with "her special dressing" to Harry Styles, the Internet, of course, became fixated on finding the recipe. Well, don't worry, darlings, because we think we found it.
In 2020, the Booksmart director participated in the Food Network special Questlove's Potluck, sharing her recipe for a roasted salmon salad with zucchini and potatoes. Yes, it included a homemade dressing that was made up of red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic, salt and olive oil.
To create the creamy mixture, Wilde instructed adding the first five ingredients to a bowl and mixing to combine, then, "in a slow steady stream," adding 2 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil while stirring continuously "stirring as you go to emulsify."
The hunt for the Friends' star's favorite salad began back in 2010, when her co-star and best friend Courteney Cox revealed to The Los Angeles Times that Aniston enjoyed the same "doctored up cobb" everyday for lunch during the NBC sitcom's run. (Insert joke about Rachel's last name being Green here.)
Then, in 2015, Aniston finally offered up her "perfect" mix via an Instagram post for her beauty company Living Proof: "Bulgar, cucumbers, parsley, mint, red onion, garbanzo beans, feta cheese, & pistachios."
Still, a different variation on the Emmy winner's salad became TikTok-famous earlier this year and received so much hype that Aniston was forced to "debunk" it in an interview with Elle.
"That's not the salad that I had every day on Friends," she stated. "I feel terrible because it's literally taken off like crazy."
While she acknowledged that the viral take on her supposed go-to salad looked "delicious," she clarified, "I would never have that much chickpea in a salad, to be honest. Not good for the digestive tract."
In her 2019 cookbook "The Clean Plate," the Goop founder shared the recipe for the kale and sweet potato miso salad she "could never get bored of."
In addition to the titular ingredients, Paltrow's line-up includes grated lime zest, hulled pepitas, sesame seeds and red onion.
The key to nailing this dish, Paltrow stressed, was "tossing the sweet potatoes with the dressing while they're still warm—it helps the potatoes absorb all that delicious citrusy-umami flavor."
Barrymore caused a meltdown on TikTok when she shared her "pizza salad" recipe this past September.
Basically, you take all of the toppings off of your pie and add them to a salad along with additional vegetables and a dressing of your choosing. (R.I.P. that beautiful crust.) "And then I kind of just mix up, it's actually really crunchy and delicious," she said. "And then you get the satisfaction of eating a pizza, but maybe for gluten intolerant [people]."
When people refused to bite on her idea, the TV host explained her offering was simply an option "if you're having a day where you're trying to not eat the bread."
"I'm sure people are going to be like, 'How dare you do this to a pizza?' I get it," Barrymore continued. "I feel really guilty about it myself."
In April, the model took to TikTok to share the easy recipe for her "number one salad," which contains just five ingredients: arugula, cucumbers, red peppers, parmesan cheese and avocado. To dress her combination of choice, Hadid offered up lemon, salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic glaze, the latter of which she proclaimed is a "non-negotiable. It's a must I swear."
As any loyal viewer of The Kardashians knows, Kim and the rest of her family love a big salad, usually from their favorite Calabasas spot Health Nut—which Kris Jenner became an investor in this past May—that is tossed in a bowl bigger than most people's sinks. The Skims founder's go-to order is "The Sesame," which is the chain's take on a Chinese chicken salad and is made up of chopped romaine lettuce, shredded chicken breast, shredded carrots, pickled ginger, chow mein noodles, and a creamy sesame dressing.
While Kourtney is also a Health Nut fan, usually opting for "The Chef," she revealed her all-time favorite salad to make at home on her lifestyle website, Poosh, in 2020.
Organic romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, Persian cucumbers, avocado and chicken breast make up the salad that is topped with a homemade dressing consisting of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, mustard, white wine vinegar or rice vinegar, salt and pepper. Kourtney added that she also likes to add a topping such as sunflower seeds, cheery tomatoes or shredded almonds.
In one of her beloved #PretendCookingShow Instagram videos, Garner shared her favorite lunch salad recipe, noting in her caption that the meal "used to mean limp carrot shavings and too cold tomatoes," but now are "a celebration of what is seasonal and handy."
"I add lots of goodies to my salad, but first: veggies," Garner explained in the video. "They add lots of crunch. You don't need croutons if you have something crunchy in there." Her essential ingredients include broccoli, nuts and an avocado. For protein, the Alias star favors warm brown rice or chicken and her ideal dressing is "straight olive oil and red wine/balsamic vinegar."
But Garner's biggest trick was to "CHOP" all of the elements very well "so that you aren't battling a dinner plate size honk of lettuce every other bite."
While Middleton didn't reveal her salad of choice herself, a source shared The Princess of Wales' favorite flavor combination with the Express UK in July 2022.
"Watermelon salads are a staple of Kate's lunches, and include juicy pink watermelon mixed with avocado, onion, cucumber, and feta cheese," the source detailed, calling it "the perfect mix of sweet and savoury."
In July 2022, the Pretty Little Liars alum shared her "perfect summer salad" on TikTok, telling her followers they could "thank me now or later."
The ingredient list included arugula, watermelon, cucumbers, blueberries and/or blackberries, walnuts, feta cheese, two squeezed limes, olive oil, salt and pepper.