‘She Looks About 18 at the Most’: Actor Nicolas Cage Sparks Controversy After Red Carpet Appearance with His Fifth Wife Who’s Nearly Half His Age
Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage, 60, attended a popular film festival with his fifth wife, Riko Shibata.
Previously, the nephew of “The Godfather” director Francis Ford Coppola was married to four other women. But new images of Cage and his wife of three years have recently sparked some controversy online.
Actor Nicolas Cage sparks conversations online after fans get a glimpse of his wife who is 30 years younger than him. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)
Cage reportedly met Riko in 2020 while filming the “Prisoners of the Ghostland” movie in Shiga, Japan. They got married at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas in February 2021 after Cage proposed via FaceTime, as he noted in an interview on his brother Marc Coppola’s Q1043 New York radio show in August 2020.
The couple share one daughter, 2-year-old August Francesca Cage, who was born over a year later in September 2022. He was 58 at the time.
Cage and 31-year-old Riko were seen both wearing black ensembles while out in Orange County, California, for the 25th annual Newport Beach Film Festival, which runs from Oct. 17-24. She went for a dress and a matching purse and heels, while the “National Treasure” star added a white black on top of his black button down shirt.
When Daily Mail shared images of the couple online, their comment section seemed to focus less on their outfits more on the nearly 30-year age difference between Cage and the Kyoto, Japan, native.
“I wouldn’t personally have much in common with a partner less than half my age, which would be a dealbreaker for me. But to each their own,” one commenter stated.
Someone else suggested, “She looks about 18 at the most. Obviously, he’s attracted to women who look like children. I’m sure there’s a name for that.”
Nicolas Cage did receive some positive reactions. For example, one person posted, “He looks good, they seem happy. Happy wife, good life.”
However, a critic of the “Face/Off” actor wrote, “I would not marry a guy who has 4 ex-wives.” Another commenter asked, “How many marriages has this guy gone through?”
Before his first marriage, Cage welcomed his first son, Weston in December 1990 after two years of dating actress Christina Fulton. The two had been seen publicly at various red carpet events and film premieres.
Fellow Oscar winner Patricia Arquette, 56, was Cage’s first wife, who was five years younger than him. The “Bringing Out the Dead” co-stars got married in April 1995 before divorcing in 2001.
Lisa Marie Presley, the late daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, was Cage’s second wife. They married in August 2002 when she was 34 and he was 38.
Nicolas Cage filed for divorce from Marie after three months, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce was finalized in May 2004.
Nicolas Cage shared an emotional tribute to Lisa Marie Presley after her tragic death on Thursday https://t.co/8AsftwV28q pic.twitter.com/MQsGRXBEqg
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 13, 2023
In Feb. 2004, a 40-year-old Cage met Alice Kim. The former Los Angeles-based waitress was 19 at the time. They married at a private ranch in Northern California two months later and welcomed their son, Kal-El, born in Oct. 2005.
“When my mother-in-law came to the house for the first time, before even hello or nice to meet you, all I got was ‘She too young!’ And so I knew this was going to be an uphill battle,” Cage told The Guardian in 2013.
He and Kim separated in January 2016 and finalized their divorce later that year. He then went into a low-profile relationship with makeup artist Erika Koike around 2018.
In March 2019, the “Wild at Heart” actor and Koike tied the knot in an impromptu wedding in Las Vegas, but he filed for annulment four days later.
According to The Blast, Cage claimed he and Koike were “both drinking to the point of intoxication” before the wedding ceremony. He was granted a divorce in June 2019.
As far as his most recent bride, Cage has expressed how extremely happy he is with Riko. He wore a black Tom Ford tuxedo for the nuptials and she wore a handmade Japanese bridal Kimono from Kyoto as they wed in front of their guests, which included Cage’s ex-wife, Alice.
“I’m really happily married. I know five is a lot,” he said in a 2022 interview with the Los Angeles Times of his fifth marriage. “But I think I got it right this time,” he added.
Nicolas Cage booked his first movie role in the 1982 teen movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” His filmography also includes “Leaving Las Vegas,” “The Rock,” “Con Air,” “Gone in 60 Seconds,” “National Treasure,” “Lord of Warm” and “Kick-Ass.”