You know how we were all gallivanting this past summer singing, “I'm looking for a man in finance?” Yah, well Miss Reese Witherspoon did 👏🏻 that 👏🏻. Enter: her rumoured boyfriend, Oliver Haarmann. The actor and financier were first spotted back in July 2024 going on a literal helicopter date that ended with dinner at L’Artusi in New York City. Soooo yeah, I guess you could say things got serious (and £££) fast.
Anyway! Since then, these two have been spotted out a bunch more times, with Reese rocking some of his merch (we’ll get into it in a sec!) and Oliver meeting her kids. So exactly whomst is the man the Hello Sunshine founder has been spending all her time with as of late? Let’s get into it, shall we? Beginning with the fact that...
He’s in ~finance~
Yep, turns out Reese’s new man actually graduated from Brown University and went on to attend Harvard University to pursue his master’s degree in business administration. He then headed to London to officially begin his career at global investment firm KKR, per his LinkedIn. Fast-forward to 2010, and Oliver founded his own private equity company, Searchlight Capital Partners.
Since starting Searchlight, the businessman has continued his role as a partner, where he works with his two co-founders Eric Zinterhofer and Erol Uzumeri, per his website. Good! To! Know!!!
Oh, and he’s also kind of a sports guy
But not a sports guy like the frat bros you knew in college, obvi. Oliver is more like a...well, he’s like a buy-a-literal-team kinda sports guy lolololol.
Turns out, in December 2023, Sportico reported that the financier was in negotiations to buy 10 percent (!!!!) of the New York Islanders. And just a couple of months later, in early 2024, the New York Post reported that the team confirmed he *did* buy a stake in the team, making the deal official official.
Oliver and Reese were first spotted together in July 2024
Oh, and in case you wanna be totally happy for/equally jealous of the actor, their first public date consisted of them arriving in *checks notes* New York City by *checks notes again* helicopter before heading to dinner at hotspot L’Artusi. *throws notes away*
Soon after the sighting, however, a source told People that Reese and Oliver were simply “friends,” while another insider maintained the celeb was “taking things slow when it comes to dating.”
“She enjoys it but doesn’t want it to be a big focus. She’s busy with work and her son. These are her biggest priorities,” they continued.
That! Said!!
They were more recently snapped again 👀
You read that right! On 4th September 2024, the duo was photographed once more in New York City. At the time, a person close to the sitch explained that the ‘ship was “just casual” and the two were simply “friends.” I mean, Reese and Oliver were legit holding hands, but mmmmkay!!!!
Anyway! The duo reportedly attended an Assouline opening event that evening alongside fellow guests Roger Federer and Anna Wintour. ‘Kay, we’re not not jealous.
He’s previously been married
Oliver and his ex-wife, Mala Gaonkar, ultimately divorced after welcoming two children together. FYI, the financier’s former partner is also in the ~biz~, and began her hedge fund SurgoCap Partners in 2022.
Like Oliver, she, too, graduated from Harvard University with a master’s in business administration and worked as a founding partner of investment firm Lone Pine Capital before pivoting and starting her own company.
Oh, and P.S. Mala is also a writer, and has previously been featured in a buncha publications, including Catamaran, Carolina Quarterly, and American Short Fiction. She’s also collabed with musician David Byrne to write an interactive theater project called Theater of the Mind, which ran at York Street Yards in Denver, Colorado.
“I think a lot of Theatre of the Mind, these things don’t come out of nowhere,” she said during a convo with Shondaland. “They come from deep roots, and your memories, and your experiences. And so much of Theatre of the Mind is about this idea of how we continually make stories about our lives, and ourselves, and our worlds, and how those stories can be continually remade — if you don’t get stuck.”
Oliver helms a charity called the Surgo Foundation
Oliver, Mala, global health expert Sema Sgaier, and writer Malcolm Gladwell founded Surgo Foundation, which, according to the foundation’s site, “partner[s] with organisations and governments to help unlock some of their biggest challenges. Our model is to supplement existing programs with our funds, expertise, and tools.”
“If you don’t actually listen to people and find out what they really care about, you’re not helping anyone,” Mala told W during a convo back in May 2017 of the charity’s mission.
He’s met Reese’s children
During the couple’s most recent date night on 1st October, 2024, the actor sported a hat emblazoned with the logo for the — wait for it — New York Islanders (!!!!) aka the team Oliver is a minority owner of. Mind = 🤯.
Later on that night, the two were joined by Reese’s son Deacon Phillippe for dinner at Cafe Cluny in New York City, so it seeeeeems as though things are getting *insert Larry David voice* pretty, pretty serious. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Anyway! That’s pretty much all we know about Reese and Oliver’s romance for now, but definitely make sure to check back in for any and all updates on ‘em!
