Love Stories: Chance meeting at a 'pretentious' Sydney party sparked Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen's romance
By Maddison Leach|
When ?Sacha Baron Cohen chanced upon Isla Fisher at a Sydney party, he "instantly" knew he'd found the woman of his dreams.
"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," he told The New York Times in October 2020.
"I knew instantly. I don't know if she did. It's taken her about 20 years to know."?
If Fisher didn't know Cohen was 'The One' right away, she certainly figured it out quickly and they said "I do" in 2010. Now, after more than a decade of marriage, the couple have announced their separation, revealing they divorced in 2023.
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The two actors each shared a photo showing them together, dressed in their tennis whites, with a short statement over the top on their Instagram stories.
"After a long tennis match lasting over twenty years, we are finally putting our racquets down," they wrote.
The couple explained they had "jointly filed to end our marriage" in 2023 but have kept the news quiet until now.?
"We have always prioritised our privacy, and have been quietly working through this change," they said.
"We forever share in our devotion and love for our children. We sincerely appreciate your respecting our family's wish for privacy."?
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Cohen and Fisher had indeed been careful to keep their marriage and family life จC including their three children จC private and out of the spotlight.?
"I'm not really comfortable talking about my private life and Sacha and I are probably very similar in that we hide our feelings behind humour," Fisher told the Daily Mail in 2008.
Keep reading to find out how Cohen and Fisher's romance unfolded.
?Cohen and Fisher first crossed paths at a party in Sydney in 2001.
It was the same year he won the BAFTA for Best Comedy? for Da Ali G Show, and she was trying to kickstart her Hollywood career after several smaller projects.
Fisher's cheeky Australian humour caught Cohen's attention right away and they were an item soon after.
Both were rising stars and they worked hard to keep their romance out of the spotlight until they announced their engagement in 2004.
As Cohen is Jewish, Fisher agreed to convert to Judaism and have a traditional wedding that honoured his faith.?
?"I will definitely have a Jewish wedding just to be with Sacha," the Aussie actress told the Evening Standard.
"I would do anything จC move into any religion จC to be united in marriage with him."
But she and Cohen were in no rush to walk down the aisle.
In fact, the couple welcomed their first child together years before saying "I do", a baby girl they named Olive.
The new parents waited six years after they got engaged before officially tying the knot in an intimate Jewish ceremony in Paris on March 15, 2010.
Their private wedding was attended by just six guests, who flew to France just for the occasion.
"It [was] very important to me to have a beautiful ritual celebrated with my family and friends," Fisher told Allure in 2009, two years before her actual nuptials.
"And when you are in the public eye, to keep that private and to make it happen without it being really visible is really difficult."
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Less than a year after they got married, Cohen and Fisher welcomed their second child, another little girl called Elula.
By the early 2010s, both parents were considered A-list stars and they worked hard to make sure that never compromised their children's privacy.
As well as keeping photos of their kids off social media, Fisher and Cohen opted not to talk much about family life to the press.
"My responsibility is to my family."
?"Motherhood is my favorite topic but I never talk about it publicly," Fisher said in a 2011 interview with Us Weekly. "My responsibility is to my family."
When asked why she kept her kids out of the spotlight, ?she told Today US: "They have rights, too.
"It's a very conscious decision and truly I would feel really disgusting about myself if I used my family to sell something. It wouldn't sit right with me. It doesn't line up with my values."
She and Cohen both continued pursuing acting careers while also juggling parenthood, which became an even bigger priority when Fisher fell pregnant with their third child.
The couple's only son, ?Montgomery, arrived in 2015 and rounded out the little family of five.
With three young kids at home, Fisher took a step back from leading lady roles and instead picked up smaller projects that let her focus on family life.
"One of the perks of being an actor is that you have a bunch of silly voices in your back pocket to whip out at bedtime," she cheekily told Women's Weekly in 2022.
READ MORE: How the Sydney Olympics created a royal romance?
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Fisher and Cohen moved their brood to Australia, where they lived for two years before returning to the US.
Despite their private nature, Fisher has been open about the fact that married life comes with "highs and lows".
But she's found her perfect partner in Cohen and that's why they've been going strong for 14 years of marriage now.?
"Choosing to be together every day is incredibly romantic. I love marriage. I think it's a wonderful institution and it's the most important decision you make," Fisher once told Australia's Sunday Telegraph.
"Life is filled with highs and lows, and you have a best friend to share it with you. It's amazing. It's like winning the lottery, having a good partner."
Meanwhile, Cohen marked their 11th wedding anniversary and 20 years of love in 2022 with a cheeky Instagram post.
Sharing a snap of them in the early days of their romance, the Borat star wrote: "Happy Anniversary my love. I'm writing this rather than getting you a card.
"Our duration is largely due to our location - after all Hollywood is the bastion of lengthy marriages.?"
The couple revealed in April 2024 they had filed to end their marriage the previous year.?
