“Borat” star Sacha Baron Cohen is finding himself in the unpleasant position of being caught between his traditional Jewish parents and his modern working mom fiancee, actress Isla Fisher. The pair have been engaged for quite some time and now have a daughter, Olive. However, Cohen’s parents- particularly his mother- have insisted that the couple cannot wed until Isla has converted to Judaism. But Isla has been focused on her baby and burgeoning film career, putting her Jewish studies on the back burner- which means the wedding, originally scheduled for late summer, is now postponed indefinitely.
A source said: ‘Isla was supposed to spend her time after giving birth hard at work on her Torah studies, and that’s gone far slower than expected.
‘It’s very much frustrated her future in-laws, especially Sacha’s mother, who were really hoping for a wedding this summer.’
The source added: ‘Right now there’s no wedding date set because Isla hasn’t fully converted yet, and even though she’s working at it part-time, she’s far from being close to completing her studies.’
Isla, who has spent most of this summer filming her upcoming project Confessions Of A Shopaholic, is said to have a tense relationship with Sacha’s mother, Daniella.
The source said: ‘What made relations difficult between Isla and Sacha’s mother is that she really wanted Isla to spend more time with the baby and their family in England instead of being hasty and returning to work so quickly.
‘Now that Isla’s done shooting, she’s in the awkward position of making up for lost time.’
To this end, the Australian-born actress, who found fame in Home And Away in the Nineties, is spending increasing amounts of time with her in-laws in Britain, in an apparent effort to endear herself to them.
Meanwhile the notoriously reclusive Baron Cohen, 36, is patiently playing peacemaker between his wife and mother.
Instead of wedding preparations, he has channelled his energies into work, chalking up long hours on his new reality-based film Bruno, which has nearly completed filming and will be released worldwide next summer.
The source said: ‘Sacha is not as worried about the relationship between his parents and Isla as everyone else is because he’s extremely devoted to her and their child.
‘He also believes that putting too much pressure on Isla is only going to make the wedding happen later rather than sooner.
‘He is happy taking his time to get married the same way he was happy having a long engagement.
‘But in the meantime Isla’s had to endure a lot of awkward moments with Sacha’s mother, who just doesn’t seem to understand her future daughter-in-law’s drive to become a big star.’
For Isla’s part, the actress is said to be looking forward to becoming a Cohen.
The source said: ‘No matter what Sacha’s mother throws at her, Isla isn’t going to be scared away from the relationship or the family.
‘You really get the sense that her devotion to Sacha is total, even if she’s stalled a little bit on her Jewish studies. She loves sharing her life with this guy.’
That mother sounds like a nightmare. And if Sacha were smart he’d put her in her place and make it clear that HE’S the one getting married to Isla, not the rest of the family. It’s setting a dangerous precedent to let the parents dictate the terms of the marriage, because then it never stops. Best of luck to Isla, and I hope the couple can work this out.
Photo credit: Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher are shown at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Mortons on 2/25/07, thanks to Dimitri Halkidis for WENN.