Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher were struggling with their ‘rocky’ marriage for years before quietly splitting in 2023, and the estranged couple is now desperately trying to navigate their rocky prenup and how to sort out custody of their three children, sources claim.
The British comedian, 52, and the Australian actress, 48, announced on Friday that they had filed for divorce, breaking the news on Instagram with simultaneous photos of them posing in tennis uniforms.
Now, inside sources have claimed their marriage had been “rocky” for years and Cohen reportedly struggled after making the “sacrifice” of moving his family to Australia in 2020.
“Their marriage has been rocky for years,” a source exclusively told DailyMail.com. ‘The crisis began when they moved to Australia so she could be closer to her family. But that left Sacha very distant from everyone he knew.
Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher announced their separation on Friday with simultaneous statements on Instagram
The British comedian, 52, and the Australian actress, 48, reportedly had problems after moving to Australia.
‘He made this sacrifice for her and would make many sacrifices for her throughout their marriage. He is deeply affected by her separation because she was his life for many years.”
The couple, who married in 2010, are now working on the “best arrangement” for their three children, Olive, 17, Elula, 13, and Montgomery, nine, with Fisher currently having custody.
“She has custody of the children and they are still working on the best arrangement so Sacha can be an active part of their lives,” the source continued.
‘They love each other very much, but they couldn’t get along and became different people than they were at the beginning of their relationship. They wanted different things in life in terms of their careers.
“They had a prenuptial agreement, but it’s still very difficult because everything they owned was bought for the two of them and their family together.”
The source insisted that infidelity had not played a role in the breakdown of their marriage and that neither party is dating anyone new.
They ended: “There was no cheating on either side and they are not dating anyone else either.”
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Cohen and Fisher for comment.
The now-estranged couple appeared in love as they shared a kiss in an Instagram post in July 2023.
The now-estranged couple met at a party in Australia in 2002 before getting engaged in 2004. Fisher, who compared meeting the actor to “winning the lottery,” converted to Judaism before marrying in Paris, France, in a Jewish ceremony in March . 2010.
Ten years later, they moved to Sydney in December 2020 after splitting their time between the US and the UK before moving to Perth, Western Australia.
Fisher, who grew up in Perth from the age of six, spoke about the move in 2021, telling Stella magazine that she feels safer in her native Australia.
‘I feel so safe, I guess the word is welcoming, when I’m in Australia. It’s where I grew up,” she said.
‘I’m happiest when I’m at home. I miss him when I’m not here. I don’t feel any pressure when I’m in Australia. I don’t have to say or do or be anything. I mean, I don’t even have to wear shoes.
There were also reports that the political situation in the US was behind their relocation.
“They didn’t want to raise their children in Trump’s America,” a source told the Sydney Morning Herald in January 2021.
Borat star Cohen has long been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration.
Their split comes just days after Rebel Wilson made a series of shocking accusations against Cohen in her new memoir Rebel Rising.
Wilson played his on-screen girlfriend in the 2016 comedy The Brothers Grimsby and made a number of accusations about her uncomfortable experience during filming.
She alleged that on set he asked her to undress for scenes despite his “no nudity” rule.
He has strenuously denied her claims, which he says are contradicted by the evidence.
The British prankster achieved global fame in 2006 when he starred in the satirical mockumentary Borat, playing a journalist from Kazakhstan who learns about life in America.
Fisher’s first major role was as Shannon Reed on the Australian soap opera Home and Away from 1994 to 1997. She went on to star in films such as Confessions of a Shopaholic and Wedding Crashers.
Sources tell DailyMail.com that Isla currently has custody of her three children, Olive, 17, Elula, 13, and Montgomery, nine.
Their split comes just days after Rebel Wilson leveled a series of shocking allegations against Cohen in her new memoir Rebel Rising (pictured from the set of The Brothers Grimsby in 2016).
In January 2022, she gave a rare interview about her marriage to Cohen when asked how they had managed to stay together for two decades.
‘I think by Hollywood standards it’s probably 200 years!’ she joked. ‘I feel like it’s a Golden Jubilee or something. Everyone congratulated me.
‘It’s a fun trip. I feel very lucky to have Sacha in my life. “Now we have this beautiful family and we survived lockdown together, which, you know, is not easy for any couple.”
But on Friday they confirmed their split, telling fans in a statement: “After a long match of tennis that lasted more than 20 years, we are finally putting down our rackets.”
‘In 2023 we file a joint application to end our marriage. We have always prioritized our privacy and have been quietly working on this change.
“We always share our devotion and love for our children. We sincerely appreciate that you respect our family’s desire for privacy.”