Why did Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher wait so long to get married?

 

Don’t let Sacha Baron Cohen’s irreverent antics fool you, he’s from a family that practices strict Judiasm, which may part of the reason why he and the mother of his daughter, Isla Fisher,waited so long to get married.

The pair, both known for their comedic roles (Fisher often plays a kooky love interest in romantic comedies, and Cohen films his attempts to dupe people into believing his outrageous characters) told the Australia magazine Women’s Day that they’ve finally tied the knot in a small Paris ceremony last week (via PopEater).

Cohen and Fisher have been dating since 2002, and have been engaged since 2004, but something has always come up to post-pone their wedding. Isla gave birth to their daughter Olive in 2007.

In 2008 their wedding was reportedly put off because Isla was behind in her studies need to convert fully to Judiasm, which Cohen’s parents would require before they officially wed. There may be some truth to this as Isla has openly talked about her willingness to convert to Judiasm in order to marry Cohen. In 2004, shortly after they became engaged, she told thisislondon.co.uk:

“I will definitely have a Jewish wedding just to be with Sacha. I would do anything – move into any religion – to be united in marriage with him. We have a future together, and religion comes second to love as far as we are concerned.”

She has been studying the Torah, albeit a little slowly, for the past three years, and has adopted the Hebrew name Ayala. That definitely shows commitment.

They’ve also reportedly put off their wedding before because of Isla’s work schedule, including filming 2009’s Confessions of a Shopaholic, a frothy rom-com that lightly addressed the dangers of thoughtless consumerism.

They most recently had wedding plans for this February 26, 2010 to coincide with the Jewish festival of Purim, but canceled once details leaked to the media. Determined to keep the paparazzi away from their special day, Fisher told the Daily Mail that they’ve rescheduled the wedding for this summer, which proved to be a successful red herring.

They finally had their very private Jewish ceremony in Paris last Monday (March 15, 2010) with only close family members in attendance. The next day, Fisher shot out an email to her friends which read:

“We did it – we’re married!t was the absolute best day of my life and in so many beautiful moments I missed you all so much. I thought of you as everything was happening, but Sacha and I wanted no fuss – just us!”

Isla Fisher was born February 3, 1976 in Muscat, Oman, and grew up in Perth, Australia. She was known for her work in Australian soap operas like Far and Away before she got a breakout role in the U.S. film The Wedding Crashers.

Here’s a video Fisher playing the anorexic character Shannon on Home and Away:

Photo: Feb 25 2007 Frazer Harrison/Getty Images