Idris Elba's secret second ex-wife revealed, lady speaks of painful break up

Idris Elba was married to Kim Norgaard for four years (from 1999 - 2003) and they share a teenage daughter together, but what people don't really know is that Idris secretly got married again back in 2006 to lawyer Sonya Hamlin

From The Sun

Idris Elba’s secret second wife is today revealed as a US lawyer who ended the marriage after just four months. Sonya Hamlin, now 44, claimed she was drunk when she and the Luther star wed at a Vegas chapel.

The pair had a whirlwind romance and a friend said: “It’s a heartbreak story. She cared about him and when they broke up it tore her up.”

Idris, 43, had just finished his role as Stringer Bell in The Wire in 2005 when they were introduced by his manager, a college pal of Sonya.

According to the sources Idris and Sonya broke up over whether or not to have children and his desire to move to L.A. 

According to Sonya they called it quits after only four months after saying “I do!” because he wanted to focus on his acting career in L.A., while she was comfy making a solid career for herself as a successful lawyer on the east coast. Elba and Hamlin had been living together in Maryland for a few weeks after he wrapped filming on The Wire. A source tells UK’s The Sun about the wild night they tied the knot in Las Vegas.

“I remember Idris. They were both very nice, not intoxicated or nothing crazy like that. They arrived at 5-6pm,” a source at the chapel says. “I recognised him because my brother’s a fan of The Wire. They were having a lot of fun. The person checking them in was joking about them marrying in Vegas and Idris was giving it back.”

The marriage lasted only two months before Hamlin filed for divorce. The Sun reports how the split was triggered by constant fighting over Idris wanting to live in Los Angeles.

“One of the reasons it ended was her practice was doing well here but Idris wanted to be in LA,” another source adds. “At some point he had a choice between being a husband or a heartbreaker. He chose his career over her.”

Sonya’s mother, Betty Hamlin, recalls her daughter’s heartbreak after she and Idris called it quits. “It was a very painful relationship.” Another friend adds, “It’s a heartbreak story. She cared about him and when they broke up it tore her up.”