Nicolas Cage Says His Wife’s Pet Flying Squirrels Made Him Realize Their Relationship “Could Work Out”

Nicolas Cage has been pretty tight-lipped about his relationship with his fifth wife, Riko Shibata, but at the premiere of his latest film the actor revealed that it was a pair of flying squirrels that ultimately brought them together.

The couple, who tied the knot in February of this year, made their red carpet debut on Tuesday at the premiere of Cage’s film Pig. During the appearance, Cage spoke with Entertainment Tonight about how he and Shibata first met and the moment he knew their relationship could make it for the long haul. “We met in Japan and I thought she was stunning when I met her. We had a lot in common,” he explained. The actor added that it doesn’t hurt that, “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.’” Last August, during an appearance on his brother Marc “The Cope” Coppola’s radio show, Cage announced that he had proposed to Shibata over FaceTime and then sent her engagement ring to Japan via FedEx.

In February, Cage confirmed to People that he and Shibata had wed, telling the outlet, “It’s true and we are very happy.” The pair got married in a small, quiet ceremony at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas on February 16. The 28-year-old Shibata walked down the aisle to her favorite track, “Winter Song” by Japanese pop duo Kiroro while wearing a three-layer handmade Japanese bridal kimono from Kyoto. The date also has special meaning for Cage as it’s the birthday of his late father, August Coppola, the older brother of film director Francis Ford Coppola. The actor was previously married to Patricia Arquette, Lisa Marie Presley, and Alice Kim, with whom he remains close and was also in attendance at his wedding to Shibata, along with their son, Kal-El. Cage’s fourth marriage to Erika Koike lasted only four days, and he also shares a son, Weston, with model Christina Fulton from their 1990 relationship. This is Shibata’s first marriage.

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