The 57-year-old star has been married to his girlfriend for a year • The actor's marriage was held in an intimate ceremony in Las Vegas • "We are happy", the groom said
Actor Nicholas Cage apparently strongly believes in love, and for the fifth time in his life has exchanged vows and vowed to love forever (or at least until next time, in his case).
Cage, 57, and his three-decade-younger partner, Rico Shivata, 26, exchanged vows in Vegas on Feb. 16, the actor himself confirmed.
"This is true and we are very happy," he said in a statement to the media.
"The ceremony was small and intimate and was held at a Las Vegas hotel," a source on behalf of Cage confirmed.
Cantiknya Riko Shibata, Istri Nicolas Cage yang Terpaut 31 Tahun https://t.co/YD91cancwo #TempoFoto
- TEMPO.CO (@tempodotco) March 7, 2021
Cage and his new wife
The wedding date was chosen as a tribute to Cage's late father's birthday.
Shibata wore a traditional Japanese kimono dress and marched to the canopy to the tune of Japanese pop duo Kiruro's song "Winter Song," and Cage wore a Tom Ford tuxedo.
The two exchanged traditional Catholic vows and Shinto, while the ceremony also included singing by Walt Whitman and haiku.
At the end of the ceremony the two took part in a small party with Cage's third ex-wife, Alice Kim, and their 15-year-old son Cal-El.
Shibata (five years younger than Cage's eldest son) and Cage met more than a year ago in Japan.
They were first documented in February 2020, when they visited the huge pyramid-shaped tomb plot that Cage purchased in New Orleans in 2010.
For Shivata it was a first marriage, while Cage was married to actress Patricia Arquette between 1995 and 2001, Lisa Marie Presley (daughter of Elvis Presley) from 2002 to 2004 and Alice Kim from 2005 to 2015 (with whom he gave birth to a son in 2005).
In March 2019 he married Erica Koika in Las Vegas, and just four days after the marriage Cage filed for divorce on the grounds that they had been done fraudulently, accusing Koika of having another relationship in parallel with his relationship, and that he himself was drunk and unable to make an informed decision.
Cage has also previously had high-profile romances, including with actresses Sarah Jessica Parker, Uma Thurman and Christina Fulton (with whom he gave birth to a son in 1990).
Cage has a troubled past when it comes to managing his money, controlling his temper and affection for alcohol.
The player, whose fortune is estimated at $ 150 million at his peak, has mismanaged his money and assets over the years and lost tens of millions of dollars (partly due to bizarre purchases like his huge tomb plot, dinosaur skull and Caribbean island).
In addition, over the years he has found himself confronted with allegations of violence against women in his life, including the mothers of his two sons (who each accused him separately of physically and mentally violent behavior), accusations that also led to arrest.