Sonya Nicole Hamlin is widely known for being the ex-wife of popular British actor Idris Elba. Idris is mostly popular for playing in the movie Beast where the actor played the character of Dr. Nate Daniels. Aside from acting, Elba is also a producer, writer, and director.
Sonya, on the other hand, is a real estate lawyer who has been working in this field for almost 22 years. Similarly, a lot of curious minds want to know more about her personal life and also know about her relationship with her husband Idris.
Did you know Hamlin was married to Idris for just a few weeks before deciding to go separate ways? When did they marry each other? What was the reason behind their separation? How is her professional life? To know more about her, stay with us and you will find your answer. Let us get started and explore the life of Sonya Nicole Hamlin in detail.
Sonya Nicole Hamlin’s Early Life; She Is A Maryland Native
Sonya was born in May 1971 in Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA. She is 51 years old as of 2023. However, there isn’t much information available regarding her parents. On the other hand, her former parents in laws are Winston Elba and Eve Elba.
Similarly, talking about her education, Hamlin is a pretty well-educated person. She graduated from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Government. Likewise, she enrolled at the American University Washington College of Law where she earned a doctorate in law.
Her Ethnicity and Nationality
As for her ethnicity, Sonya is African-American and holds American nationality. Similarly, she is said to be a Christian.
On the other hand, her ex-husband is of mixed descent. His father is of a Sierra Leonean background whereas his mother is Ghanaian. Moreover, his nationality is British.
What does Sonya Nicole Hamlin Do For A Living?
Sonya works at a Law Firm called The Hamlin Legal Group, LLC. She is the company’s principal owner, which she started in early 2000. Her business mainly revolves around helping its clients to protect their property. Hamlin is an expert in this field as she has been working diligently for over 22 years now.
Similarly, as a real estate lawyer, she handles tax matters, short sale negotiations, and foreclosure prevention. Besides, she also deals with property. In the early 2000s, when the real estate market was booming, Nicole made huge money from it.
She has been working as a real estate attorney for 22 yearsIn addition, the celebrity ex-spouse doesn’t just have skills as a real estate lawyer, she is also profound in personal injury litigation, bankruptcy, negotiation of student loan debt, and negotiations of unsecured loans.
Sonya Nicole Hamlin’s Marriage With Idris Elba
The ex-couple met each other for the first time in 2006. Idris had just finished filming The Wire and that’s when his manager introduced him to Sonya. Moreover, Elba’s manager was a friend of Hamlin. After that, the former flames went on a few dates before finally being committed to taking their relationship even further.
After dating for a few months, Sonya and Idris decided to live together in Maryland. While they were dating, Nicole and Hamlin chose to go to Vegas for Mayweather Jr vs Zab Judah fight.
The pair was together for only six weeksBoth of them loved boxing so it was no surprise that they had a great night. However, the following day was even more special as Idris persuaded her to get married. The couple had talked about getting hitched several times before but this time it was serious. The actor took her to the hotel store and brought her a diamond ring. Likewise, remembering the incident Sonya said,
“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,’ she remembers. ‘When you have that chemistry and you’re that much in love, why would you be nervous? It was very beautiful and romantic”
The duo was pretty excited and took a taxi to get to a Little White Wedding Chapel. They even persuaded a total stranger named Daniel Krastev to be a witness to their marriage. Similarly, the pair exchanged vows during a beautiful sunset on April 9, 2006. Likewise, after the wedding, they called their parents and informed them about their marriage and celebrated with dinner, champagne and chocolates.
Furthermore, the lovebirds even flew to Jamaica where they had their honeymoon, however, they still kept their nuptials a secret.
The Couple Were Together For Only A Brief Period; What Was The Reason Behind Their Divorce?
As we said previously, the former flames were head over heels in love with each other. However, things didn’t look good between them and the pair decided to part ways just six weeks into their marriage. So, what was the cause behind their divorce?
To tell you the truth, the reason is said to be a distance relationship. At the time Sonya being a real estate lawyer was busy with her work in Maryland. On the other hand, her then-hubby was trying his best to become an actor and thus was busy in California. Their distance marriage started taking a big toll on their relationship, which the duo marked as one of the reasons behind their divorce.
The duo was madly in love with one another.Moreover, Sonya also talked about Idris’s friends who persuaded the actor to be single. She explained,
“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!”
Surprisingly, it was Hamlin’s decision to part ways and she filed for divorce on June 6 2006 in Maryland. However, according to law, the couple must be separated for almost a year before they can file for divorce. Thus she hired a lawyer who claimed that she had been drunk during her wedding.
The former lovers have been on good terms with one another and are close friends to date.
Do The Couple Share Any Kids?
Sonya and Idris don’t share any children. The former lovers were the victim of a short-lived relationship and thus didn’t share any children.
However, Idris has two children from his other relationships. His first child a daughter was born in 2002 and was named Isan Elba. She was the product of his first marriage to Hanne Norgaard. Similarly, Elba became a father for the second time to Winston Elba who was born in 2014. He shared his first son with his then-girlfriend Naiyana Garth.
Is Sonya Nicole Hamlin Currently Dating Anyone?
As mentioned earlier, Sonya is a very private person who likes to keep her personal life away from the public and thus, hasn’t shared much about her dating life with the media. Thus, reportedly she is still single and is currently focused on her career.
Elba is an actor, director, and producer.However, her former husband Idris is in a marital relationship with a model named Sabrina Dhowre since 2019. Likewise, he was previously married to a hairstylist named Hanne Norgaard.
Sonya Nicole Hamlin’s Net Worth
As of 2023, Idris Elba’s ex-wife Nicole has an estimated net worth of $2 million. Sonya earned most of her money through her career as a real estate lawyer.
On the other hand, her former lover Idris Elba has an estimated net worth of $40 million. Idris became wealthy by playing in many successful movies and series throughout his career.