One of the first big gossip stories to come out of Rebel Wilson’s memoir and promotion was that she accused Sacha Baron Cohen of being rude, unpleasant and perhaps even abusive to her. She said that he had spent years trying to intimidate her into staying silent, but she was now naming him as a massive a–hole. Cohen suddenly got his lawyers involved and they’ve been threatening Rebel and issuing statements and more. I actually believed Rebel’s story about Cohen and I found it interesting that she seemingly no longer fears him. I don’t think many people fear him anymore. Speaking of, less than two weeks after Rebel named him, Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher announced their divorce. It feels related, even though they state that they jointly filed for divorce in 2023.
Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher have called it quits.
“After a long tennis match lasting over twenty years, we are finally putting our racquets down. In 2023 we jointly filed to end our marriage,” they said in statements shared on their Instagram Stories on April 5.
“We have always prioritized our privacy, and have been quietly working through this change,” they added. “We forever share in our devotion and love for our children. We sincerely appreciate your respecting our family’s wish for privacy.”
Fisher, 48, and Baron Cohen, 52, married on March 15, 2010, and they share three children.
Baron Cohen and Fisher first met back in 2001 at a party in Sydney, Australia, well before they gained fame for their hit movies, 2006’s Borat and 2005’s Wedding Crashers, respectively.
“She was hilarious. We were at a very pretentious party, and me and her bonded over taking the mick out of the other people in the party,” Baron Cohen recalled of their first meeting in a 2020 interview with The New York Times. “I knew instantly. I don’t know if she did.”
The pair went on to get engaged in 2004, and welcomed their first child three years later.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of their children, and I didn’t realize they have three kids (I thought they maybe had two). They apparently have two daughters and a son, between the ages of eight and sixteen, I think. According to People Magazine’s sources, they’ve been working out their divorce since last summer, although this was not the first time they consulted with divorce lawyers and they’ve had problems for years. Which I believe – it feels like SBC is probably a very difficult man to live with or be married to, to put it mildly. Anyway, they were clearly having big problems for a while, so why announce the divorce right after Rebel’s thing? Hm.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Isla’s IG Stories.
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- Sacha Baron Cohen, Isla Fisher attends the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 05, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California © Jill Johnson/jpistudios.com,Image: 562856495, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: jpistudios.com / JPI Studios / Avalon
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- Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher arrive to attend a screening of the Oscars on Monday April 26, 2021 in Sydney, Australia.,Image: 607912825, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Pool Photo, Model Release: no, Credit line: TH / Avalon
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- (FILE) Isla Fisher Announces Divorce from Sacha Baron Cohen After 13 Years of Marriage. Fisher announced the news on Friday, April 5, 2024 in a personal message shared to her Instagram Story. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – SEPTEMBER 22: English comedian, actor, writer and producer Sacha Baron Cohen and wife/Australian actress Isla Fisher arrive at the 71st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at Microsoft Theater L.A. Live on September 22, 2019 in Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 862817166, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Sacha Baron Cohen, Isla Fisher, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- (FILE) Isla Fisher Announces Divorce from Sacha Baron Cohen After 13 Years of Marriage. Fisher announced the news on Friday, April 5, 2024 in a personal message shared to her Instagram Story. BEVERLY HILLS, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – MARCH 04: English comedian, actor, writer and producer Sacha Baron Cohen and wife/Australian actress Isla Fisher arrive at the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party held at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 4, 2018 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 862817335, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Sacha Baron Cohen, Isla Fisher, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
As I said, I’m surprised. I don’t believe it’s given a hard time.. Sacha will also be the family money for her and kids. I really don’t getting her dumping him publiclicy when he’s their provider etc.. And he claims to be right
She didn’t dump him publicly, they both made the same post on their profiles through their stories at the same time. Same pic, same text, same time.
That said, I am very surprised, I thought they’d be one of the couples to make the distance. But they’ve always been very private, so hard to guess.
Am I misinterpreting this comment?
It doesn’t hit right for me.
Isla is successful in her own right. She’s talented & doesn’t need his “family money”. She has her own.
No. Completely sexist comment. I was shocked myself
That comment is brought to you by Borat.
Not surprised. When they first got engaged, he kept putting off the date. Then, his mother got all defensive over that, saying something like, “What’s wrong with a long engagement?”
He seems controlling and sexist.
Isla Fisher is a whole entire person, not a bank account. Jesus.
“I really don’t get her dumping him publicly when he’s their provider” — what?? It sounds like you’re saying that a spouse can’t leave another spouse if the other spouse earns more money, which is an insane take. We have no idea who initiated the split.
She’s said previously in interviews that he can be hard to live with esp when he’s working on a new character as often he brings them home. I like her, she’s a talented actress in her own right – I never really got why he became famous, I guess his humour was not something that ever appealed to me. I hated Ali G and Borat.
I loved Borat and Ali G. I also like Isla. So i am kind of sad, though I get that living with someone who is a method comedian must have been hard. His Guilliani interview is epic. Hopefully, they will move on with dignity, and their careers will continue. Ps, i do not think death threats they got helped, Sasha’s characters triggered many, especially with Borat 2.
I kinda like all his personas, so funny. There are eras for comedy now, as we learn to be more sensitive and more human towards others. I also love Isla, her movie leap year was great, and I watched it a few times like I used to do with movies I loved in the 90’s. I’m sad they are breaking up. Loved them together.
She wasn’t in Leap Year. That was Amy Adams.
Isla was in Wedding Crashers and Confessions of a Shopaholic.
I remember her saying how much she missed Australia and her family and wished her kids could grow up there instead. That she knows he needs to be in the UK and that its been hard on her being home sick. It was a long time ago but maybe with this solar eclipse energy she is looking out for her own happiness and it not in this marriage anymore. 14 years is not a failure. People think that she all of sudden thought he would be hard to live with lol. I’m sure she knew and maybe their souls were meant to be parent together and not for this entire lifetime. I wish them both well and that they co-parent in healthy way and heal.
I read they moved their family to Australia in 2020.
another one of those couple goals- couples splitting 🤭 not surprised. he is awful and so is she if she supported him for this long. they filed in 2023 so she faked it when she talked about their valentine’s day plans this year.
Why jump to “she faked it”?
Things don’t happen in a vacuum. I know it’s astonishing but… 2 things can happen simultaneously.
They can be separate & still celebrate Valentine’s Day, perhaps celebrating the love they have for each other that lives on in their children.
It was a daily mail spin that she lied about having Vday plans. In realify she said she talked about what kind of card or message she expected from him. She is the mom of his kids, so it’s not a stretch that he would give her a card and some chocolate or whatever.
Anybody know why US published Rebel’s memoir last week but UK and AUS’s publication is delayed?? I am assuming SBC successfully got injunctions in UK/AUS’s but not in US?
I don’t think he filed an injunction, the publisher is going over book with their lawyers in England and Australia because their Libel laws are different from the U S.
For once an unironic thanks Jan response!
There has been stories for a very long time about SBC and his behavior towards those with less clout than him, Popbitch has been talking about him for a very long time and how he enjoys humiliating those with less power, especially women. If the stories are true his actions are vile.
That what he does, right? His entire schtick is exposing and humiliating people, so I’m not surprised it’s something he truly enjoys and never turns off, even around those who don’t deserve it. I’ll be honest that I love his characters and his ability to humiliate right wing politicians, but I still cringe at scenes where I personally would never feel right gaining someone’s trust to turn on them. That’s who he is. But I’ve also seen him speak out of character in support of the causes he believes in, and I’ve always been impressed with his conviction and passion.
Honestly, haven’t comedians/actors learned by now that punching down only makes them look like creeps–no matter how insightful they may be? 🙄
Right? Even before the Rebel business, it seemed clear in their interviews that he was a difficult person to be with – she talked about him bringing home his characters, he does a lot of method work, and his humor – even when it’s “good” or “effective” is always big and brash and harsh, and that would be a lot to live with every day. She talked about how it was hard to feel like their family was often in danger of retribution and lawsuits. She also spoke a lot about the importance of spending several years converting to Judaism in order to feel like they could get married, and that’s their own business, she obviously has her own agency – but it’s interesting how often a marriage crumbles, even a really long established one, when the partner who has been giving and giving and giving (Fisher) finally asks for something. Here, she asked to relocate the whole family to Australia in 2020, it’s a big sacrifice for anyone, but it’s especially big in a dynamic like this one where one person (Cohen) comes across consistently like they require being the center of every room and space. I absolutely believe the Rebel stories, I’m sure his wife of twenty years probably does too, they’re not even surprising given his “method” and the things he literally says out loud about himself. I believe that they really did separate last year, and I believe too that because they ARE separated she felt absolutely no need to sink with his ship – why would she? So she publicly distanced herself from it but gave the father of her children the opportunity to announce it jointly if he wanted to, and he made the right PR call by taking her up on the opportunity to make it look as amicable and unrelated as it could be.
I agree with everything you say. What I found interesting about the announcement was that they likened their marriage to a tennis match. Yes, granted, it’s a photo of both of them in tennis togs, but isn’t a match one of competition? Constant volleying, etc.? I just found that curious.
BeanieBean, In “game, set, match” you have a winner and a loser. However, “love” in tennis means “nothing/ zero.” Maybe they wanted to play with “love” not adding up anymore?
I couldn’t stand Ali G or Borat. It’s not my humor and it really disturbs me that he’s made a career of making fun of Asians/ Moslims. Briefly, I did appreciate his takedown of Rudy Giuliani (that poor actress!).
She probably could have been a bigger deal without him. She really broke out in wedding crashers but didn’t. Always got the sense that he was maybe controlling and had to be the bigger name. Seems like a long time coming, Go Isla you deserve it.
She had three children. What makes u think he was controlling? Maybe she liked her family more than chasing roles. People are projecting with zero proof. Let’s keep that energy to fight proven abusers. Yeah, now im looking at Pitt. Petty Pitt.
Tbh she has a very limited acting range and she looks too much like Amy Adams. I don’t think she’d ever become a bona fide leading lady. She happened to marry SBC at her professional peak, and right after he consolidated his success as actor, producer and director. (Yes, Borat movies were considered ‘groundbreaking’). Years of relationship should have established what he expected from a wife. So, she knew what she was doing when she prioritized family and virtually abandoned her career. Women can choose to do just that, and it’s ok.
@Aurora, “she has a very limited acting range and she looks too much like Amy Adams.”. ?????? I don’t disagree that Isla & Amy look very similar. How is that a negative against Isla or her fault? She didn’t undergo surgery to look like Amy. They’re only three years apart in age. You might see Isla being limited in range. I don’t. There is a big difference, imo, of the characters she represented in Wedding Crashers and Now You See Me. Fact: I did not know Isla was Australian! My shame. Fun interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDz69U6Qi7s
I’ll admit my bias. Never have been a fan of SBC.
@Normades
Agreed. When I first heard they were together, I was surprised he was with a former soap actress who got parts in a couple of comedy movies. They didn’t seem on the same page. It did also occur to me that it would suit him nicely to have “the little woman” at home while his career soared, as he has always clearly been a misogynist. Any man who indulges in “ironic” misogyny like with his Ali G character is just that – a misogynist.
Her latest Wolf Like Me show is really engaging and she looks so much younger than she is that she can play roles like that for a long time.
Isla probably wanted to announce now because she’s been catching strays ever since this situation with Rebel’s book became public. Not surprising that she would want to remove herself from the conversation. I’m surprised they lasted this long, she has mentioned in the past that he can be difficult to live with.
Very interesting, now that I think about it I can believe he may be controlling. She thought she won the lottery when they met/married. But I suspect the shine wore off, and the true colors continued to be revealed. He was probably the lucky one at the end of the day. Glad she found the strength to move forward.
This isn’t too surprising since they recently showed up to the same event separately. Supposedly she also liked a post about being in a relationship with a narcissist, but when I looked her name wasn’t there anymore so either someone photoshopped the photo or she unliked it.
She’s jumping ship before it hits de iceberg.
She probably knows what really happened and I bet there will be more allegations and people coming forward after Rebel.
Sadly, that’s probably true. I don’t want it to be, I really like him, but I also believe Rebel. It’s common enough for men of my generation (as he is) to behave like that in the workplace. If SBC has a history of creating a hostile work place for women, he needs to answer for it. That’s the only way change happens.
By that point Rebel had already made big money from her other projects. I have no problem believing that he wanted to humiliate her so he can feel in control. I think he underestimated her patience, professionalism and knowledge of the law. This whole thing has made me like her more. If Isla was willing to have kids with this man and spend decades in a partnership, it makes her own character a bit sus to me, truth be told. But I’ll give her the benefit of a doubt. I liked her movies more than his.
@Mina_Esq
“If Isla was willing to have kids with this man and spend decades in a partnership, it makes her own character a bit sus to me, truth be told.”
Me too. It was clear he was a misogynist from the get-go with his Ali G character. That and his Borat character allowed him to express his disgusting misogyny while pretending to be “ironic”.
I’ve never been a fan of SBC nor watched his movies. What little I knew of them was enough to turn me off. I always thought it was interesting that Isla was with him, I don’t obviously know her personally, but she seemed very personable and charismatic and engaging doing talk shows.
I get wondering if she is sus bc she’s with SBC. I wonder the same thing. But I also know as a divorce, lawyer, how many absolutely lovely people are married to dickhead monsters (not gender specific). I truly do not think it’s possible to judge a person by their spouse. And thank goodness (as a divorced person myself ).
I think it came down to her wanting to stay permanently in Australia vs. Sasha wanting to stay in LA. It was stated that he felt out of place in Australia. Rebel’s book just just propelled Isla to announce the divorce publicly. (Supposedly ,Rebel said more women came to her)
I never got that relationship, but they were married for 14 years ( together longer) & had 3 children…
Twitter is very excited that Isla Fisher is single again.
She’s lovely. I hope she finds a worthy new partner.
I hope she gets the career she deserves as well. She’s incredibly talented–and looked on the verge of big stardom just before she married SBC.
Agree with others that it’s interesting that they likened their relationship to a competition. I also found Cohen’s description of how they met to be curious: They connected through ridiculing people at a party.
I too have been at events where I felt like an outsider among pretentious or privileged insiders. What he described sounds like they judged and made fun of people on the regular, like that became their thing. That kind of negativity gets old.
Not surprised. They were the popular guess for a blind months ago about a seemingly solid celebrity couple who have consulted divorce lawyers.
I imagine he’d be a lot as a spouse, but there’s no way to know what goes on in a marriage from the outside.
That said, as someone who walked away from a bad situation when our three were very small, when it’s time to go, it’s time to go. Wishing all good things for Isla and and their children going forward.
Just saying that maybe the statement came out because she didn’t want to publicly defend him after Rebel’s comments. I know if I were going through a divorce and that happened, I wouldn’t want to speak out to defend my soon-to-be ex.
I just realized Isla and Rebel were in one of my favorite movies together. I wonder it they remained close afterwards?