See Nicolas Cage Make Red Carpet Debut With Fifth Wife, 31 Years His Junior
The actor and partner Riko Shibata stepped out at the premiere of his latest film.
It's been five months since they got married, and now, Nicolas Cage and his wife Riko Shibata have reached a new milestone. On Tuesday, July 13, Cage and Shibata made their red carpet debut at the premiere of the actor's new movie, Pig. Entertainment Tonight notes that it was the first time Cage and Shibata have been photographed together since their February wedding. "I'm quite excited to take a picture with her," Cage told the outlet.
Cage and Shibata have made headlines for their fast-paced and untraditional relationship and for their large age difference—Cage is 57 while Shibata is 26. Read on to see the couple at the premiere and to find out more about the newlyweds.
RELATED: 27 Celebrity Couples With Huge Age Gaps.
Cage and Shibata dated—and got engaged—long-distance.
Shibata and Cage met in Shiga, Japan. They were first seen out together in February 2020; though reports about their wedding say they had been together for over a year by February 2021. Their relationship quickly became long-distance amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Cage announced that he and Shibata were engaged while appearing on his brother Marc Coppola's radio show in August 2020.
"She left New York and went back to Kyoto, Japan, and I went back to Nevada and … I haven't seen her for six months," Cage said on Q104.3, "and we're really happy together and we're really excited to spend that time together, so I finally just said, 'Look, I wanna marry you' and we got engaged on FaceTime."
He sent her the ring in the mail.
Since Cage and Shibata were halfway around the world from each other, the actor sent his fiancée her engagement ring in the mail. "I got her a black diamond engagement ring," he said on the radio show. "Her favorite color is black so she wanted the black gold and the black diamond. I customized and personalized it, and I actually sent it to her FedEx."
They got married in Las Vegas.
Cage and Shibata tied the knot in Las Vegas on February 16, 2021, in honor of his late father's birthdate. The ceremony involved Catholic and Shinto traditions, and Shibata wore a kimono while Cage wore a tuxedo. Cage confirmed the news of their ceremony, saying, "It's true, and we are very happy," according to Entertainment Tonight.
The couple reportedly celebrated with a small group, including Cage's ex-wife Alice Kim and their 15-year-old son, Kal-El.
For more celebrity news delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
Cage shared more details about their relationship at the Pig premiere.
Pig is about a man whose beloved truffle-hunting pig is stolen, so perhaps it's only natural that Cage would talk about animals while on the red carpet. He shared that he and Shibata bonded because of her uncommon pets.
"We met in Japan and I thought she was stunning when I met her," Cage told ET. "We had a lot in common. She likes animals, too, so I asked her, 'Do you have any pets?' And she said, 'Yes, I have flying squirrels.' She had two sugar gliders… I thought, 'That's it. This this could work out.'"
Shibata is Cage's fifth wife.
Cage has been married five times. He was married to actor Patricia Arquette from 1995 to 2001, to singer and Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley from 2002 to 2004, to former restaurant server Kim from 2004 to 2016, and to makeup artist Erika Koike for four days in 2019. Cage and Koike were married in Vegas and quickly requested an annulment. In addition to Kal-El, Cage also has a 30-year-old son, Weston, from a relationship with actor Christina Fulton.
