The actor has never met his daughter, Lyla, and puts in extra efforts to make sure never does.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on July 7, 2020. It has since been updated.
It wasn't too long ago that Owen Wilson was in the news for his relationship with ex-Varunie Vongsvirates and their baby girl, Lyla. In 2018, the US Weekly had reported that not only was Wilson refusing to meet his daughter, but he also had "checked the no visitation box in court in June … He does not want to visit [and does not] want any custody of her.”
Vongsvirates and Wilson had dated for almost five years before Vongsvirates got pregnant with his child. However, he had avoided meeting her ever since the new off her pregnancy got to him. According to a source who spoke to Radar, “When Varunie told Owen she was pregnant, he was not happy about it, and that was the last time they ever spoke."
“He changed his phone number. He’s never met his daughter and then he gave no heads up that he was changing his number,” the source added.
According to a source, after Vongsvirates gave birth to her daughter, Wilson never tried contacting her. The source also claimed that Wilson “knew all along that Varunie was pregnant. Owen was told when Varunie was four weeks pregnant," after they returned from their trip from Hawaii.
The Daily Mail had reported that the Wedding Crashers actor had passed a paternity test confirming that he was Lyla's father. When Vongsvirates spoke to the Daily Mail, she said, "He helps financially but it’s never been about that." She continued, "Lyla needs a father. It’s ironic how [Owen] keeps getting these father roles, he's playing a father in his new movie, and he's never met his own daughter."
According to Radar, Vongsvirates being vocal about Lyla's need for her dad's love and affection has "nothing" to do with money. For Vongsvirates, Lyla is her priority, and it shows from the way the former girlfriend of Wilson dropped everything she was doing to give her daughter all the attention she needed and became a full-time mom, said the source. “Varunie’s mother passed away when she was still kind of young and impressionable. She knows what it’s like to grow up with one parent. She doesn’t want that to happen to her daughter.”
According to Cheat Sheet, the Wonder actor is frequently photographed with his other two sons and he looks very involved in their lives, which makes it strange when it comes to his "absentee father" behavior towards Lyla. The fact he's often photographed with his sons from other relationships must make it all the more heartbreaking for this new mom.
Wilson fathers his two boys like any other parent. He has a son, Robert Ford, 12, who he shares with his ex Jade Duell, and Finn Wilson, 9, with his ex Caroline Lindqvist. Lyla is his third child and the only daughter. In June 2017, the actor opened about his relationship with his sons on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "I can make a joke and it’s, like, crickets,” he explained, “It’s, like, nothing from those guys,” reported US Weekly. Apparently, his kids don't find him funny.
Vongsvirates, on the other hand, had been really excited to be a mother since the beginning and had spoken about her hopes of Wilson being a good father. “He will be a great dad because he’s an incredible dad with his other two children,” she said at the time, according to Radar.
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Cover Image Source: (L) Getty Images | Photo by Ernesto S. Ruscio and (R) Instagram | Photo by Varunie Vongsvirates