Many people first hear about Blake Anderson Hanley through his former marriage to actress Emily Wickersham. Yet his own story includes a band, a law degree, and years of work in South Florida. He sings and writes music with Ghost Lion, while his legal career has included helping people facing difficult family and housing problems. His life brings together creative work and public service. Here is a closer look at his background, marriage, music, and professional journey.
Personal Details of Blake Anderson Hanley
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Blake Anderson Hanley |
| Also known as | Blake Hanley |
| Nationality | American |
| Home area | Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, Florida |
| Main professions | Musician, songwriter, producer, and attorney |
| Music project | Ghost Lion |
| Musical roles | Lead vocals, guitar, songwriting, and production |
| Full-length album | Nuclear Island, released in 2022 |
| Law school | Southwestern Law School, class of 2016 |
| Florida law admission | May 23, 2018 |
| Former spouse | Emily Wickersham |
| Wedding date | November 23, 2010 |
| Wedding location | Little Palm Island, Florida Keys |
| Divorce | December 2018 |
| Later family life | A daughter, Muoni, with Mumbi O’Brien |
| Exact birth date | Not reliably confirmed |
| Net worth | Not publicly verified |
Who Is He and Why Is He Known?
Blake Anderson Hanley is an American musician and lawyer with strong connections to the Palm Beach area. In music, he usually uses the shorter name Blake Hanley. His work with Ghost Lion has included singing, playing guitar, writing songs, and producing recordings. His former wife became widely known for playing Eleanor “Ellie” Bishop in the television series NCIS.
Readers may arrive looking for a celebrity relationship story, but his professional life covers several different areas. He has performed at a major Florida music festival and worked in legal aid. His full name also helps avoid confusion with Blake Anderson, the actor and comedian known for Workaholics. They are different people with separate careers.
His Early Life in South Florida
Hanley grew up in the Palm Beach area, where music became part of his life at a young age. By his own account in a later interview, he had been writing songs since he was around ten. This early start gave him years to develop ideas before performing those songs for larger audiences.
South Florida remained an important place in the life of Blake Anderson Hanley, even after he spent years elsewhere. His local community connections also include surfing and church involvement. There is much less reliable information about his childhood home, parents, or early schooling. Those gaps make it useful to focus on the experiences he has actually discussed, including his interest in music and his connection to the ocean.
The Music That Shaped His Sound
His musical interests cover styles that might seem far apart. The Buena Vista Social Club album inspired him to play classical guitar. He also enjoyed the heavier electronic sounds of Nine Inch Nails. He became interested in what might happen if warm guitar music and rougher electronic sounds appeared together in the same work.
The Clash also influenced his taste. He has named Sandinista! among his favourite albums and has spoken about its use of sounds from different parts of the world. These interests help explain why Ghost Lion does not stay within one narrow style. Guitar, electronic sounds, and different rhythms all have a place in the project’s music.
How Ghost Lion Developed
Early coverage in 2016 described Ghost Lion as a Los Angeles-based indie pop and rock group. Hanley handled vocals and guitar, while Enrique Lara played drums and congas. The group expanded to include Mike Torres on bass and Chris Kapica on keyboards and synthesizers. Before using the Ghost Lion name, the project had been known as Kin Cayo.
For Blake Anderson Hanley, this period included releases such as “Broken Glass,” “Way Up,” “Wolves,” and “Shot the Sun Down.” The songs showed different sides of the group, from softer acoustic sounds to brighter rhythms. Coverage of “Shot the Sun Down” connected its message with hope, fairness, and finding the strength to keep going. These early releases show that his music career was already developing during his marriage.
The Meaning Behind the Ghost Lion Name
The name Ghost Lion has a personal meaning. Friends had called Hanley “Ghost” because he could be shy and fade into the background. He added “Lion” to represent the courage he wanted to find. The two words bring together the wish to hide and the wish to be heard.
That idea connects closely with his approach to songwriting. He has described music as a way to work through feelings and become more comfortable expressing himself. The name gives listeners useful context for songs about loneliness, fear, and connection. Performing his own material also means sharing thoughts that once stayed within a private space.
Nuclear Island and His Recorded Music
Ghost Lion released the album Nuclear Island on July 15, 2022. It contains 13 songs and runs for about 41 minutes. The record brings together several tracks associated with the project, including “Our Ship,” “Way Up,” “Broken Glass,” and “Running Back to You.” It offers a useful starting point for readers who want to hear his work.
The album explores relationships, heartbreak, identity, and questions about faith. Its sound combines acoustic guitar with electronic elements and varied rhythms. “Sinking Stones” is especially personal, with Hanley describing it as a search for hope during a difficult time. The album also includes short interludes between longer songs, giving listeners a fuller sequence to follow rather than a collection of unrelated singles.
His Law Education and Professional Qualification
Blake Anderson Hanley also followed a formal path into law. He completed his legal education at Southwestern Law School in 2016 and was admitted to practise in Florida on May 23, 2018. These dates help place his legal training alongside his music career. He was developing both parts of his working life during the same broad period.
His professional record confirms that he is eligible to practise law in Florida. This matters because some short biographies describe only his entertainment connections. Becoming an attorney required legal study and admission to the profession. His work therefore includes a separate, qualified career with responsibilities that extend well beyond performing, recording, or attending public events.
His Work With Legal Aid
Hanley’s legal career has included work with the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County. In 2019, he was working as a domestic violence lawyer while also performing with Ghost Lion. He spoke about the influence of social justice messages in music and how those ideas helped guide his interest in public service.
His later legal aid work included fair housing. A 2024 staff listing placed him within the organisation’s Fair Housing Project. That project works on housing access through education, advocacy, and enforcement. This gives a more detailed picture of his career over time: his experience has included different problems affecting people’s safety, homes, and access to legal help. It also shows why a single job description may leave out part of his professional background.
His Involvement in Housing and Community Work
His work has also included the Heirs’ Property Project, which focuses on protecting family property and supporting housing stability. In April 2025, he was listed as an heirs’ property attorney for a panel held alongside a screening of Gaining Ground. The event brought together legal professionals and the film’s director for a community discussion.
He is also listed among the elders at Providencia, a church in West Palm Beach that he joined in 2018. His community profile describes an interest in helping people who are often overlooked. Taken together, these roles suggest that local service has remained a significant part of his life. They add context to his professional choices without requiring guesses about his private beliefs or daily routine.
His Marriage to Emily Wickersham
Blake Anderson Hanley married Emily Wickersham on November 23, 2010. Their wedding took place on Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys. A reception was held at the Bath and Tennis Club in Palm Beach. The marriage began before Wickersham became a regular cast member on NCIS, which brought her much wider public attention.
During their marriage, the couple attended some entertainment and charity events together. Photographs show them at the 2014 Operation Smile Gala and an Academy Awards viewing party in 2015. These appearances offer a small public record of their time together. However, the couple shared limited details about their relationship, including how they first met or what their everyday married life was like.
Their Divorce and His Return to Florida
Blake Anderson Hanley and Wickersham divorced in December 2018, after about eight years of marriage. The reasons for their split have not been publicly explained in detail. Wickersham’s fictional relationship story on NCIS should be kept separate from her real marriage. A television plot cannot establish what happened between two people in their private lives.
After spending almost a decade in Los Angeles, Hanley returned to the Palm Beach area. In a 2019 interview, he described the move as emotionally difficult and spoke about heartbreak. Around the same period, he began performing more of the songs he had written at home. That gives a clear account of his return, while leaving the private reasons behind the divorce unanswered.
Performing at SunFest
In May 2019, Ghost Lion performed at SunFest in West Palm Beach. For Hanley, playing a major festival in the area where he grew up was a meaningful step. He appeared before family, friends, and listeners who were hearing his music for the first time. The performance brought his songs to a much larger local audience.
He also spoke openly about feeling shy on stage. His comments described the challenge of moving from writing alone to singing personal material in public. That detail makes the performance interesting beyond its place on a career timeline. It shows that gaining an audience did not remove his nerves, even as he took on a bigger opportunity.
His Later Relationship and Family Life
The later family life of Blake Anderson Hanley includes a relationship with artist Mumbi O’Brien and their daughter, Muoni. He shared public messages about becoming a father, including the experience of welcoming his daughter during the pandemic. Those messages offered a brief view of a personal chapter that followed his divorce.
O’Brien has a background in visual art and costume design. Their family has appeared in some public photographs, but many everyday details remain private. The available information supports describing his role as a father without adding an exact wedding date or a detailed account of his current household. Public family moments provide only a limited view of anyone’s life.
What Is He Doing Now?
As of October 2026, the professional listing for Blake Anderson Hanley connects him with The Grantham Law Firm & Standard Title in West Palm Beach. It lists him as an associate and confirms his eligibility to practise in Florida. The firm works in areas including property, probate, and estate planning. Earlier legal aid roles remain part of his career history.
His recorded music with Ghost Lion also remains available, including Nuclear Island. This gives readers two clear ways to understand his public work: his legal career and his music catalogue. A recording’s continued availability does not establish a current tour or a new album schedule. Those activities need a separate announcement, so they should not be assumed from older concert coverage.
His Age and Net Worth
An exact, reliably confirmed birth date is not available for Hanley. Some websites publish a specific birthday and age, but repeating a number does not make it accurate. The clearest dated details concern his education, marriage, legal admission, and music releases. Those milestones allow readers to follow his life without assigning an uncertain age.
His net worth is also not publicly verified. Music releases and legal employment establish that he has worked in both fields, but they do not reveal his income, savings, debts, or assets. Figures presented as exact wealth estimates should therefore be treated carefully. There is enough confirmed information about his career to tell his story without attaching an unsupported financial total.
Conclusion
Blake Anderson Hanley has built a public record through music, legal work, and community involvement. His marriage to Emily Wickersham explains much of the interest in his name, while Ghost Lion and his professional career provide a fuller picture. From writing songs to working on housing issues, his story includes several connected chapters. The most useful account follows those confirmed experiences and respects the personal details he has kept private.
(FAQ’s)
1. Who is Emily Wickersham’s ex-husband?
Her former husband is Blake Hanley, an American musician and attorney.
2. What band is Blake Hanley known for?
He is known for Ghost Lion, where he sings, writes music, and plays guitar.
3. When did he and Emily Wickersham divorce?
Their marriage ended in December 2018, after about eight years.
4. Is Blake Hanley a qualified lawyer?
Yes, he was admitted to practise law in Florida on May 23, 2018.
5. Does he have children?
He has a daughter named Muoni with artist Mumbi O’Brien.
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