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Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen’s divorce announcement follows allegations made about Cohen by Rebel Wilson.
On Friday (5 April), the couple, who met in 2001, announced they had split up last year, sharing a joint statement that read: “After a long tennis match lasting over 20 years, we are finally putting our racquets down. In 2023, we jointly filed to end our marriage.”
“We have always prioritised our privacy, and have been quietly working through this change. We forever share in our devotion and love for our children. We sincerely appreciate your respecting our family’s wish for privacy.”
The announcement comes weeks after Pitch Perfect star Wilson branded Cohen a “massive a**hole”, and accused him of trying to “bully” her into silence over a contentious chapter in her memoir.
Wilson claimed that she struggled with Cohen, 52, on the set of 2016 comedy Grimsby – something that the Ali G and Borat actor has strenuously denied.
Cohen’s representatives told The Independent: “While we appreciate the importance of speaking out, these demonstrably false claims are directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence, including contemporaneous documents, film footage, and eyewitness accounts from those present before, during and after the production of Grimsby.”
News of Cohen’s divorce from Wedding Crashers actor Fisher, 48, arrives suspiciously soon after Wilson’s claims surfaced – but sources are conflicted on whether they impacted the announcement.
While one source told The Sun that the headlines were the “catalyst” in their decision to share the news, claiming Fisher was “starting to get embarrassed” by the claims, US Weekly reported that there was no link and had “nothing to do” with Wilson.
“They have been living separate lives since last year but wanted to give this space and time for their children to be OK with this before the news came out and they got all this attention,” a source told US Weekly.
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But a source told The Sun: “Rebel’s book was a catalyst in Isla deciding to announce this to the world; she’s got her own career and reputation to worry about.
“Those close to her said it was starting to get embarrassing with all of the allegations that were spilling out of Rebel’s book. So she felt as though it was the right thing to do to inform everyone of their decision.
“Sacha, on the other hand, did not want that. He has been making as though it’s business as usual before they made this announcement.”
The couple, who have three children, are said to have “battled to make things work for the sake of their family” ahead of their decision to split in 2023.
“This decision wasn’t taken lightly and they remain incredibly close – there’s still a lot of love there,” a source told The Sun.
Baron Cohen reflected on first meeting Fisher in an interview with the New York Times, noting that he knew “instantly” that she was going to mean something to him.
“She was hilarious,” the 52-year-old comedian said. “We were at a very pretentious party, and me and her bonded over taking the mick out of the other people in the party. I knew instantly. I don’t know if she did.”
The couple got engaged in 2004 and married in a private ceremony in Paris in 2010.