Blake Anderson Hanley is a musician, family law attorney, and former husband of NCIS actress Emily Wickersham. While many know him through his past marriage, he has built a successful career in both music with Ghost Lion and the legal field.
After his divorce from Wickersham, Blake started a new chapter as a husband and father in Florida. His story highlights his professional achievements, personal growth, and life beyond Hollywood connections.
| Quick Facts | Details |
| Real Name | Blake Anderson Hanley |
| Date of Birth | March 2, 1984 |
| Birthplace | Palm Beach, Florida |
| Profession | Family Law Attorney, Musician |
| Band | Ghost Lion (Lead Vocalist) |
| Ex-Wife | Emily Wickersham (NCIS actress) |
| Marriage Years | 2010–2018 |
| Current Wife | Mumbi O’Brien |
| Daughter | Muoni (born 2020) |
| Net Worth | $500,000–$1.5 million (estimated) |
Early Life and Background
Understanding Blake Anderson Hanley’s roots helps explain how he became both a creative artist and a disciplined professional later in life.
Blake Anderson Hanley was born on March 2, 1984, in Palm Beach, Florida, a sunny coastal community known for its mix of laid-back culture and old-money sophistication. Growing up there gave him exposure to both artistic and structured environments from an early age.
His father, Daniel Hanley, brought an unusual athletic legacy into the family, having once played Australian rules football for the Essendon Football Club in Australia’s Victorian Football League. This connection gave Blake dual American and Australian heritage.
Blake’s mother, often identified as Denise, reportedly worked as an elementary school teacher. Her career likely nurtured his early love of storytelling, communication, and creative expression, qualities that would later define his songwriting.
Family appears to have been central to Blake’s upbringing. His brother, Drew Hanley, remained close to him into adulthood and later played a meaningful role by officiating Blake’s wedding to Emily Wickersham in 2010.
Palm Beach in the 1990s was a community with distinct cultural pockets existing somewhat separately from one another. Several reports suggest this environment shaped Blake’s later artistic interest in music that bridges different cultural and emotional experiences.
Unlike many public figures connected to celebrities, Blake has kept the bulk of his childhood details private. He has not given extensive interviews about his upbringing, which is consistent with his generally low-key approach to public life.
The combination of athletic discipline from his father’s side and creative encouragement from his mother’s side appears to have given Blake a balanced foundation, one that would eventually let him pursue both music and law as parallel careers.
By his teenage years, Blake had already developed a strong interest in songwriting, an interest that would carry him through college and eventually into a professional music career with his band, Ghost Lion.
Education Journey
Blake Anderson Hanley’s educational path reflects the same duality found throughout his life: a balance between creative pursuits and serious academic commitment.
Blake attended Palm Beach Atlantic University, where he earned a degree in Communication and Media Studies. This program gave him a strong foundation in storytelling, public communication, and media literacy.
Studying communications proved useful for his eventual music career, as it sharpened his ability to write lyrics, connect with audiences, and present himself professionally during interviews and live performances.
After completing his undergraduate studies, Blake made a significant pivot by deciding to pursue law. This was a notable shift from a communications and media background into a far more technical and demanding field.
He enrolled at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, a respected institution known for producing attorneys across entertainment law, family law, and other specialized practice areas.
During his time at Southwestern, Blake served as Vice President of the Music Law Society, a role that allowed him to merge his passion for music with his growing legal expertise.
This dual academic interest in both communications and law explains why Blake has been able to sustain two demanding careers simultaneously rather than abandoning one for the other.
Choosing to study law while still actively performing with Ghost Lion required significant time management and discipline, traits that have defined his professional life ever since.
His decision to specialize eventually in family and divorce law, rather than entertainment law, is particularly notable given his own personal experience with divorce later in life.
Blake’s educational background ultimately gave him the credentials to build a respected legal career in Florida and California while never fully abandoning his musical identity.
Music Career with Ghost Lion
Long before most people knew Blake Anderson Hanley as Emily Wickersham’s husband, he was already building a career as a working musician.
Blake is the lead vocalist and guitarist for Ghost Lion, an indie rock band recognized for blending tropical, calypso, cumbia, and electronic influences into emotionally resonant songwriting.
The band’s most recognized track is “Wrong Guy,” a song that helped introduce Ghost Lion to wider audiences and remains one of the project’s defining releases.
Other notable Ghost Lion songs include titles like “Broken Glass,” “Wolves,” “Shot the Sun Down,” and “Sinking Stones,” each reflecting the band’s introspective and emotionally honest songwriting style.
Despite achieving meaningful recognition as a vocalist, Blake has never embraced social media in the way many of his musical peers do, preferring to keep a relatively low public profile even while performing.
Ghost Lion’s sound has been described as socially conscious, often touching on themes of healing, heartbreak, and personal transformation, themes that became especially prominent in songs written after Blake’s divorce.
Blake has performed at notable South Florida events, including SunFest, one of the region’s most prominent music festivals, helping the band build a loyal regional fanbase. Read More
According to reports, Blake’s musical efforts have also been recognized financially, including a reported $35,000 prize associated with Live Nation, along with investments in his own recording equipment.
Following his divorce in 2018, Blake’s songwriting reportedly shifted in tone. He has spoken about many of his newer songs focusing on themes of coming out of hiding and processing heartbreak honestly.
Even while balancing a full-time legal career, Blake has continued performing and writing music, proving that his identity as an artist remains just as important to him as his professional legal work.
Ghost Lion may not have achieved mainstream chart success, but the band has cultivated a devoted, loyal following, particularly within the South Florida music scene where Blake first started performing.
Career as a Lawyer
While many know Blake Anderson Hanley primarily through music or his marriage to Emily Wickersham, his legal career represents an equally significant part of his professional identity.
After completing his law degree at Southwestern Law School, Blake transitioned into practicing family and divorce law, a specialty that involves helping clients navigate some of the most emotionally difficult moments of their lives.
Some reports indicate Blake worked with the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, focusing specifically on domestic violence cases, work that requires both legal skill and considerable emotional sensitivity.
Other accounts place him practicing family and divorce law in Los Angeles, and more recent reporting connects him to the Bruce Law Firm in Florida, suggesting his legal career has evolved across different firms and locations over time.
Family law attorneys in Florida typically earn between $60,000 and $120,000 annually, depending on experience level and firm size, giving context to Blake’s likely earning range within this profession.
Choosing to specialize in family and divorce law is a notable decision given Blake’s own experience going through a high-profile divorce. Many who follow his story see a layer of personal understanding in the work he now does for clients.
Blake’s legal career demonstrates a level of discipline and seriousness that contrasts with, yet complements, his more expressive identity as a musician fronting an indie rock band.
Balancing courtroom responsibilities with live performances and songwriting is no small feat, and it speaks to Blake’s strong work ethic and time-management skills.
Clients working with Blake reportedly benefit from an attorney who brings both legal expertise and genuine empathy, qualities shaped in part by his own personal journey through relationship transitions.
Today, Blake continues to practice family law while maintaining his music career, proving that reinvention does not require abandoning previous passions entirely.
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Marriage to Emily Wickersham
Blake Anderson Hanley’s marriage to Emily Wickersham remains the connection most people associate with him, even though their relationship represents just one chapter of his broader life story.
Blake and Emily reportedly met in the late 2000s, developing a friendship that gradually turned into a romantic relationship built on shared creative values and mutual respect.
The couple married on November 23, 2010, in an intimate ceremony held on Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys, one of the most picturesque wedding destinations in the state.
Blake’s brother, Drew Hanley, officiated the wedding, adding a deeply personal and family-centered touch to the ceremony, which was attended by roughly 150 close friends and family members.
A reception reportedly followed a few days later at the Bath & Tennis Club in Palm Beach, continuing the celebration in Blake’s home community.
During their marriage, Emily was steadily building her acting career, eventually landing the role of Special Agent Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop on NCIS, a part that made her a household name among television audiences.
Despite Emily’s rising fame, the couple reportedly maintained a private lifestyle, rarely appearing together at high-profile public events and choosing instead to keep their relationship largely out of the spotlight.
The couple lived together in Los Angeles for the better part of a decade, with Blake focusing on his music and legal studies while Emily’s acting career flourished on national television.
After nearly eight years of marriage, Blake and Emily separated in 2018, finalizing their divorce that December. Neither party spoke extensively in public about the specific reasons for the split.
Both Blake and Emily reportedly handled their divorce with notable maturity and discretion, avoiding public disputes and choosing instead to part ways respectfully, a rarity in celebrity-adjacent separations.
Life After Divorce and New Family
Divorce often marks a turning point, and for Blake Anderson Hanley, the years following his split from Emily Wickersham brought significant personal change and eventual happiness.
After the divorce finalized in December 2018, Blake made the decision to leave Los Angeles, the city where he had lived for roughly a decade, and return to his hometown of Palm Beach, Florida.
In interviews, Blake admitted that returning home after such a long absence felt strange at first, describing the period as emotionally difficult following the heartbreak of his divorce.
Being back in Florida, surrounded by family and familiar surroundings, reportedly gave Blake the space he needed to heal and rebuild both his personal life and his creative output.
During this period, Blake’s songwriting took on a more reflective and honest tone, with many new Ghost Lion tracks focusing on themes of healing, hiding, and eventually finding hope again.
In 2019, Blake met Mumbi O’Brien, a visual artist and costume designer whose creative background aligned closely with his own artistic sensibilities, and the two reportedly began dating that year.
Blake and Mumbi eventually married in a private ceremony, choosing to keep the details largely out of public reporting, consistent with Blake’s longstanding preference for privacy.
In May 2020, the couple welcomed their daughter, Muoni, whose name reportedly means “peace,” a fitting tribute given the emotional journey Blake had gone through before finding stability again.
Blake has occasionally shared glimpses of his family life on social media, including images of Mumbi and their daughter at the beach, along with heartfelt messages celebrating his daughter’s milestones.
In one social post, Blake reportedly joked about the possibility of starting a family band someday, showing how deeply music remains woven into his personal life, even as a father.
Meanwhile, Emily Wickersham has also moved forward, dating actor James Badge Dale, known for roles in The Departed and Iron Man 3, and the couple welcomed a son named Cassius at the end of 2021.
Current Life and Work
Today, Blake Anderson Hanley leads a life that balances three core roles: musician, attorney, and family man, all centered in his home state of Florida.
Blake continues to perform with Ghost Lion, writing and releasing music that reflects his ongoing creative growth, even as his legal career demands significant time and professional focus.
Professionally, Blake practices family and divorce law, helping clients navigate the same kinds of difficult transitions he himself once experienced firsthand during his own separation.
His dual career path remains relatively unusual; few professionals successfully maintain an active music career alongside a demanding legal practice over an extended period of time.
Blake has largely avoided maintaining a significant social media presence, a choice that has kept much of his day-to-day life private despite ongoing public curiosity about his connection to Emily Wickersham.
As a father, Blake appears deeply engaged with raising his daughter, Muoni, often describing fatherhood as one of the most meaningful aspects of his life since his divorce.
His marriage to Mumbi O’Brien reportedly continues to thrive, with the couple sharing a mutual appreciation for art, creativity, and a quieter, more private approach to family life.
Blake’s journey from a touring indie musician to a practicing attorney, and now a husband and father, illustrates a broader theme of reinvention without abandonment of one’s original passions.
Unlike celebrities who lean into public attention following a high-profile relationship, Blake has consistently chosen privacy, letting his professional work and family life speak for themselves.
Reports suggest Blake remains active in both the South Florida music scene and the local legal community, continuing to build a reputation in both fields independently of his past marriage.
Net Worth
Blake Anderson Hanley’s financial standing reflects the combined earnings from his two distinct careers rather than reliance on celebrity status alone.
Estimates of Blake’s net worth vary across sources, generally ranging between $500,000 and $1.5 million, depending on which reports and calculation methods are used.
His income comes primarily from two sources: his earnings as a practicing family and divorce attorney, and royalties, performance fees, and merchandise sales tied to Ghost Lion.
Family law attorneys in Florida typically earn between $60,000 and $120,000 annually, and Blake’s decade of legal experience likely places him toward the higher end of that range.
On the music side, indie bands like Ghost Lion rarely generate massive wealth through streaming alone, but consistent regional popularity, live performances, and a devoted fanbase provide meaningful supplementary income.
Reports also mention a $35,000 prize connected to Live Nation, along with personal investment in recording equipment, both of which suggest a strategic approach to managing his music career finances.
By comparison, his ex-wife Emily Wickersham has an estimated net worth of around $6 million, largely built through her many years as a series regular on NCIS.
Rather than viewing this financial gap as a setback, several reports frame Blake’s wealth as a reflection of intentional choices, prioritizing meaningful work over chasing fame or maximum income.
| Financial Comparison | Estimated Net Worth |
| Blake Anderson Hanley | $500,000–$1.5 million |
| Emily Wickersham | Approximately $6 million |
Blake’s financial profile illustrates that a comfortable, secure life can be built through consistent professional effort across two demanding fields, rather than dependence on a single high-earning career.
Conclusion
Blake Anderson Hanley is far more than Emily Wickersham’s ex-husband. He is a practicing family law attorney, the lead singer of the indie rock band Ghost Lion, and a devoted husband and father living a private, purposeful life in Florida. From his early years in Palm Beach to his education at Southwestern Law School, his marriage and respectful divorce from Wickersham, and his new family with Mumbi O’Brien, Blake’s story reflects resilience, reinvention, and balance.
His estimated net worth between $500,000 and $1.5 million may not rival celebrity wealth, but it represents genuine, sustained success across two demanding careers. Blake Anderson Hanley’s journey proves that life after a high-profile divorce can lead to renewed purpose, creativity, and quiet fulfillment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Blake Anderson Hanley?
Blake Anderson Hanley is an American musician and family law attorney, best known as the lead singer of Ghost Lion and the former husband of NCIS actress Emily Wickersham.
When were Blake Anderson Hanley and Emily Wickersham married?
The couple married on November 23, 2010, on Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys, with Blake’s brother Drew officiating the ceremony.
Why did Blake Anderson Hanley and Emily Wickersham divorce?
Neither party has publicly disclosed the exact reason for their split. They divorced in December 2018 after nearly eight years of marriage.
Does Blake Anderson Hanley have children?
Yes, Blake has one daughter named Muoni, born in May 2020, with his current wife, Mumbi O’Brien.
Who is Blake Anderson Hanley married to now?
Blake is currently married to Mumbi O’Brien, a visual artist and costume designer, whom he met in 2019 after his divorce.
What band is Blake Anderson Hanley in?
Blake is the lead vocalist and guitarist for Ghost Lion, an indie rock band known for songs like “Wrong Guy” and “Broken Glass.”
What is Blake Anderson Hanley’s profession besides music?
Blake works as a family and divorce law attorney, having earned his law degree from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles.
What is Blake Anderson Hanley’s net worth?
His estimated net worth ranges between $500,000 and $1.5 million, earned through his legal career and music royalties combined.
Where does Blake Anderson Hanley live now?
Blake moved back to his hometown of Palm Beach, Florida, after his divorce, and he currently resides there with his wife and daughter.
Is Blake Anderson Hanley active on social media?
No, Blake keeps a relatively low social media presence, sharing only occasional family updates rather than maintaining an active public profile.
Devid John is a professional content writer and celebrity blog expert with 6 years of experience in creating accurate, engaging, and SEO-optimized biographies. He specializes in researching celebrities, public figures, and entertainment news, delivering well-structured, fact-based content that is both informative and reader-friendly. His passion for storytelling and quality research helps readers discover authentic insights into famous personalities worldwide.
