A Look At Aaron Sorkin's Relationship History

Aaron Sorkin is perhaps best known as the mastermind behind Oscar-nominated hits like "Moneyball," "The Trial of the Chicago 7," and "The Social Network," for which he won the 2011 Academy Award for best adapted screenplay. However, Sorkin has also worked on a number of iconic movies most folks don't realize he was involved with, and his talents as a writer have earned him an impressive net worth. As of 2022, he reportedly has a cool $90 million in the bank, per Celebrity Net Worth, and that figure is sure to go up thanks to his current and upcoming projects, like "Being the Ricardos."

However, despite all of his success in Hollywood, things haven't always been easy for the filmmaker. In 2001, Sorkin was arrested, per The Washington Post, and he's been candid about his struggle with addiction. During a 2012 commencement speech at his alma mater, Syracuse University, he shared how he "lost a decade of my life to cocaine addiction" and confessed his "big fear was that I wasn't gonna be able to write without it." Even so, he pushed to get sober, and looking back on the 11 years of sobriety that led him to that point, he enthused, "I've written three television series, three movies, a Broadway play, won the Academy Award, and taught my daughter all the lyrics to 'Pirates of Penzance.'" Also rocky has been Sorkin's love life, and we're breaking down his full, headline-making relationship history below.

Aaron Sorkin and Kristin Chenoweth first got together following his divorce in 2005, and what followed was an on-again, off-again romance that lasted "for years," per Parade. The pair broke up for the first time soon after, but when Chenoweth debuted "The Apple Tree" on Broadway in 2006, Sorkin was there to support her, sparking rumors of a reconciliation. They kept fans guessing, and in her 2009 memoir, "A Little Bit Wicked," Chenoweth admitted she didn't know what their future held. "I love the man, and whatever happens or doesn't happen between us in the long run, I always will," she wrote. And she meant it. In 2020, they joined forces to teach a master class at Oklahoma City University, and in 2021, she was still talking about her ex in the nicest terms. "Aaron and I have such deep respect for each other and our work," she told Los Angeles Magazine, explaining, "That's what I think drew us together, because I'm a workaholic and so was he."

The couple's friendship even survived Sorkin "loosely" basing the character of Harriet Hayes in "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" on her. As Chenoweth told Time, he asked for permission, saying he had to write about her because she's "one of the most wonderfully complicated fantastic women." She agreed, but admitted it was "difficult" to watch Hayes act in ways she never would. What's more, it was "weird to see fights played out on TV that we had, but it was also an honor," she concluded.

Mandy Stadtmiller was a gossip columnist for New York Post when she met Aaron Sorkin at a party in 2010. She gave the Oscar winner her number and, as she shared in a personal post on XO Jane, they went on a "few" dates. One night, while at dinner in New York, she reportedly told him about a "takedown" piece she was writing on Bethenny Frankel and, as she recalled, he was unimpressed. So much so that he sent her an email (of which she shared screenshots) recalling how he got "preachy and condescending" that night but saying it gave him an idea for a character.

Said character was gossip reporter Nina Howard, who appeared on the fourth episode of "The Newsroom" and was played by Hope Davis. However, Sorkin adamantly told his girlfriend "THIS CHARACTER IS NOT YOU." He went on to clarify that he and his writers "call the character 'Bad Mandy' (as opposed to real Mandy) because I haven't named her yet." Stadtmiller was OK with the idea at first, but after the episode aired, she "fully cried" and felt "totally humiliated." As she explained, "Maybe it bothered me so much because I realized how close to the character I really was." She went on to add that "what hurt the most watching that first episode — and yes, I realize it is supposed to be 'the opposite' of me — was the close to the bone nailing. Of me."

In the midst of the pandemic, Aaron Sorkin found love with supermodel Paulina Porizkova. In April 2021, Page Six confirmed they had been "quietly seeing each other for a few months," and they made their red carpet debut at the Oscars that weekend. However, Porizkova later told The New York Times that the outing was their second date. Admitting she felt some trepidation about making such a public debut so early, she recalled telling Sorkin, "This is going to kind of take me off the market for a little bit," to which he simply said, "OK." Calling him "a great kisser," she revealed they met through journalist Ashleigh Banfield after he asked her if she wanted to be set up on a blind date. She had one clause — "no rock stars" — and Banfield introduced her to Sorkin through text message. They went on their first date a month later.

Despite saying the Oscars aren't conducive to a romantic night out — "You're not there to have fun. You're on display." — Porizkova gushed about her date on Instagram. Noting that it was "freezing in the room," she wrote it "allowed me to snuggle close to my date. Who, yes, kept me warm all night," she shared before joking that she wore her own "fifteen year old Dolce Gabbana" dress because "I figured it made me look sort of like a female Oscar, so in case Aaron didn't win one, he could still take one home."