Nicolas Cage is about to be a dad of three! The Pig star and his wife, Riko Shibata, are expecting their first child together. Representatives for the couple confirmed the exciting news to PEOPLE on Thursday, Jan. 6, sharing in a statement that “the parents-to-be are elated!” No further details, including a due date for the couple’s bundle of joy, were provided. The little one on the way will join Cage’s two older children, Kal-El, 16, and Weston, 31, from previous relationships.
The Thursday pregnancy news marks a major step in Cage and Shibata’s relationship. The couple first met in Shiga, Japan in 2020 while Cage through mutual friends while Cage was filming Prisoners of the Ghostland. Recalling his first impression of Shibata, the actor told Entertainment Tonight in July 2021, “we met in Japan and I thought she was stunning when I met her. 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 could work out.’”
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After that first meeting, the couple was first pictured together in February 2020 while visiting Cage’s nine-foot pyramid-shaped tomb at a New Orleans cemetery, according to the Daily Mail. They were then photographed together just a week later while visiting the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Their whirlwind romance continued throughout the following months, and in August 2020, they became engaged. Cage popped the question over FaceTime after they had spent six months apart before the engagement. The couple tied the knot in February 2021 at Wynn Las Vegas, their Feb. 16 wedding date selected “to honor the birthday of the groom’s late father.”
For the ceremony, Shibata, who is from Kyoto, Japan, wore a handmade Japanese bridal kimono from Kyoto. Cage, meanwhile, sported a Tom Ford tuxedo. Shibata walked down the aisle to her favorite song: “Winter Song” by Kiroro, and during the intimate ceremony, the couple exchanged Catholic and Shinto vows which featured poetry by Walt Whitman. In a statement to PEOPLE, Cage confirmed the marriage, sharing, “it’s true, and we are very happy.”
Cage was previously married four times. He was married to Patricia Arquette from 1995-2001. He was also married to Lisa Marie Presley from 2002-2004. The actor was married to Alice Kim from 2014-2016. His last and shortest marriage was to Erika Koike for four days. Cage’s latest relationship ship milestone comes after he and Shibata made their red carpet debut last July at the premiere of Cage’s film Pig.
