When Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen announced their split last month, eyebrows were raised not only by the timing, but the bizarre announcement itself.
In a brief Instagram statement, the couple likened their romance to a tennis match, posing in tennis whites and announcing they were ‘putting their racquets down’ after 20 years together and welcoming children, Olive, 16, Elula, 13, and Montgomery, nine.
Now, a month on from the peculiar post, it appears Isla is the one who’s achieved a career grand slam.
The Australian actress, 48, has moved on from her marriage with a slew of new film roles and high profile outings while her estranged husband, 52, continues to deal with the fallout of Rebel Wilson’s allegations about his on-set behaviour.
And the best is yet to come for the star, with culture and brand expert Nick Ede predicting that Isla’s stardom will continue to rise now she’s no longer with her husband.
Isla Fisher has bounced back from her split from Sacha Baron Cohen by stepping out of her husband’s shadow with ‘newfound confidence’ (pictured in March)
When Isla and Sacha announced their split last month, eyebrows were raised not only by the timing, but the bizarre announcement itself and its tennis theme
Nick mused: ‘For a few years Isla was not known for her acting but as Sacha Baron Cohen’s wife.
‘Now she’s concentrating on her own brand and building herself up to be the Australian superstar we all fell in love with many years ago on Home And Away.
‘She’s rebuilding her career with high profile roles, and with her newfound confidence we will be seeing a lot more of Isla on and off the red carpet.
‘Isla is going to be everywhere in 2024 and 2025 and back in the spotlight, but this time on her own terms and as a single mother.’
While Isla can expect to be thrust into the limelight, Nick doesn’t think she’ll draw too much attention to her private life.
Nick continued: ‘She has been very stoic and not spoken about her split and I think she will keep it that way.
‘Isla’s a very private celebrity and much like fellow Aussies Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman she’ll be keeping her private life just that – private.
‘Isla has so many fans who have literally grown up with her, she’s a role model to many and to see her shine and prove you can do anything at any age will bring her legions of fans.
‘Plus the return of Bridget Jones will no doubt be cathartic for her and the audience given it looks at Bridget being single again!’
The best is yet to come for the star, with culture and brand expert Nick Ede predicting that Isla’s stardom will continue to rise now she’s no longer with her husband (pictured in 2019)
Living with her family in Perth, Australia, Isla was not one to court publicity, going about her daily business quietly.
She would support her husband at red carpet events but the fiercely private couple would rarely discuss their relationship, drawing a firm boundary between their personal and private lives.
So quiet were they that the couple managed to break up in private, only announcing their split months later when Sacha came under scrutiny because of unsavoury claims made by actress Rebel.
Rebel hit the headlines after she made several claims against her former Grimsby co-star, Sacha accusing him of inappropriate on set behaviour.
In the book Rebel Rising, the actress wrote she ‘rues the day’ she met the actor, who she had described as her ‘idol’, first meeting at a dinner party hosted by Little Britain star Matt Lucas.
A year later Sacha offered her a role in 2016 film Grimsby as Dawn, the wife of his character Nobby.
Ahead of her memoir’s release, Rebel named Sacha as the celebrity responsible for making threats over the book after which his representatives hit back.
Taking to Instagram to confirm the identity, she wrote: ‘I will not be silenced by high priced lawyers or PR crisis managers. The a****** I am talking about in ONE CHAPTER of my book is: Sacha Baron Cohen.’
In the wake of her statement, Sacha spoke out to TMZ via representatives, saying: ‘While we appreciate the importance of speaking out, these demonstrably false claims are directly contradicted by extensive detailed evidence…
‘[With] contemporaneous documents, film footage, and eyewitness accounts from those present before, during and after the production of The Brothers Grimsby.’
Isla has also refused to comment on Rebel Wilson’s claims against her estranged husband after she accused him of inappropriate on set behaviour (pictured in 2016’s Grimsby)
The book was published in the US last month, and featured a chapter titled Sacha Baron Cohen And Other A**holes, where Rebel makes the claims about his alleged behaviour during the filming of Grimsby.
However the UK copies feature the wording crudely blacked out due to what Rebel branded ‘peculiarities’ of English law.
Explaining why she wrote about the experience, Rebel said on Loose Women that she had wanted to help others and to also release the ‘shame’ she had over the ordeal.
She explained: ‘I just wanted to write about it because it was the worst experience in my career and I write about it, to try to help the industry.
‘Also, to release some of the shame that I had, that I was in a situation where it wasn’t great for my self-worth.’
She admitted: ‘I felt humiliated, I felt degraded, as a woman and as an overweight woman.’
Just days after Rebel’s book was released in the States, Isla and Sacha announced they had separated.
The couple first met back in 2001 and tied the knot in 2010.
Their statement 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 prioritized 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 couple have not commented further on the matter, but Isla reached out to fans in the following weeks, sharing a picture of herself looking peaceful in a picturesque garden with the caption: ‘Thank you for all the kindness and support.’
Isla has also refused to comment on Rebel’s claims against her estranged husband.
The couple have not commented on their divorce, but Isla reached out to fans in the following weeks, sharing a picture of herself looking peaceful in a picturesque garden
While the split came as a surprise to their fans, it appears the writing was on the wall for Isla’s marriage for years, with Sacha reportedly struggling after making the ‘sacrifice’ to relocate their family to Australia back in 2020.
‘Their marriage has been shaky for years,’ an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively last month.
‘The breakdown started when they relocated to Australia so that she could be closer to her family. But it left Sacha far removed from everyone he knows.
‘He made this sacrifice for her and would make many sacrifices for her throughout their marriage. He is deeply affected by their split because she was his life for many years.’
While dealing with their heartbreak, the focus has remained on their children.
The exes are now said to be working out the ‘best arrangement’ for their brood, with Isla currently the one with custody.
‘She has custody of the children and they are still working out the best arrangement so that Sacha is able to be an active part of their lives,’ the source continued.
‘They have much love for each other, but they could not 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 prenup but it is still very difficult because everything they owned is purchased for the two of them and their family together.’
It appears the writing was on the wall for Isla’s marriage for years , with Sacha reportedly struggling after making the ‘sacrifice’ to relocate their family to Australia back in 2020 (pictured in 2021)
The insider went on to insist that infidelity had not played a part in their marriage breakdown and that neither party is dating someone new.
They finished: ‘Cheating was not involved on either side and neither are seeing anyone else.’
For now, Sacha is keeping a low-profile. In contrast, Isla has thrown herself into work.
Last month, she was pictured filming Noah Baumbach’s new movie Jays Kelly with her co-star George Clooney.
Not much is known about upcoming Netflix movie, however the cast also includes Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Jim Broadbent and Billy Crudup.
She has also landed a role in Playdate with Hollywood bit hitters Alan Richardson and Kevin James and The Temptation of Gracie with British incons Rupert Everett and Celia Imrie.
Isla was revealed to be a surprise new addition to the Bridget Jones 4 cast last week, with fans in shock when she was spotted on set with Renée Zellweger.
The actress has reportedly taken a role in the new movie as a ‘single mother who befriends Bridget at the school gates’, in a a case of life imitating art for the star as she navigates single life.
With her storyline mirroring her personal circumstances it’s unsurprising that sources say Isla’s own experience ‘will help her in the role.’
In the films, the trials and tribulations of protagonist Bridget – a thirty-something singleton who craved finding love but was looking in all the wrong places – resonated with many who were still on a rocky path to find their own Mr Darcey.
Isla was revealed to be a surprise new addition to the Bridget Jones 4 cast last week, with fans in shock when she was spotted on set with Renée Zellweger (pictured Wednesday)
Dubbed the ‘Bridget Jones effect’, millions of single millennials around the world revealed they finally felt represented when Helen Fielding’s popular novels were dramatised .
In the upcoming fourth film, a newly-widowed Bridget is set to ring a chord with a new generation of women, those who found, but then lost, their partners. One of these women is no doubt Isla.
It’s hardly groundbreaking then that sources told The Sun: ‘Isla’s real life is inspiring her new role in the Bridget Jones film. She plays a single mother who befriended Bridget at the school gates.
‘Isla loves Bridget Jones and is thrilled that she landed the part. Her own experience will help her in the role and it’s great she’s landed such a big part after a really tough time.’
