The Way Nicolas Cage Proposed To His Wife Riko Shibata Was Anything But Traditional

Nicolas Cage took a rather unconventional approach regarding his marriage proposal to his current wife, Riko Shibata. As reported by People, the actor married Shibata in a private wedding ceremony in Las Vegas on February 16, 2021. Cage, in confirming the news, told the outlet, "It's true, and we are very happy." The union marked Cage's fifth marriage. The "National Treasure" star was previously married to Alice Kim, Erika Koike, Lisa Marie Presley, and Patricia Arquette. On tying the knot again at 57, Cage told The Los Angeles Times, "I'm really happily married. I know five is a lot. But I think I got it right this time."

Cage and Shibata met through mutual friends in 2019 while the actor was in Shiga, Japan, to film his action movie "Prisoners of the Ghostland." They got engaged during the pandemic, with Cage confirming the news on his brother Marc Coppola's radio show in August 2020. In 2022, Cage told GQ that he sees himself spending the rest of his life with Shibata. "I am a romantic, and when I'm in love, I want to give that person everything I can," he said. "It's my expression of saying, 'I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.' And this is it for me. ... This is it. This is it." So, how did Cage pop the question to his fifth wife?

Nicolas Cage's proposal to his fifth wife, Riko Shibata, was anything but traditional. On his brother Marc Coppola's radio show, the "Moonstruck" actor revealed that he popped the question to Shibata over FaceTime. At the time, Cage said he and his wife had not seen each other for six months due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. "Because what happened [was] she left New York and went back to Kyoto, Japan, and I went back to Nevada," he said. "We're really happy together, and we're really excited to spend that time together, and so I finally just said, 'Look, I wanna marry you,' and we got engaged on FaceTime." He added that he chose a black diamond engagement ring as it was Shibata's favorite color. "She wanted the black gold and the black diamond," he said. "So I customized and personalized it, and I actually sent it to her via FedEx." 

Talking about their engagement on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," Cage said he would've preferred to propose to Shibata in person instead of doing it virtually. "I'm a romantic," he explained. "I want to get on one knee and offer the black diamond ring, but because of what we were all going through, with the quarantine, [I couldn't]." But he also didn't want to wait any longer. "We had built this beautiful momentum that I didn't want to stop. So I said, let's take it to the next level," Cage said. "And she said yes — on FaceTime."

Not even their large age gap could stop Nicolas Cage and his fifth wife, Riko Shibata, from being together. As reported by USA Today, Cage was 57 years old when he and Shibata swapped wedding vows on February 16, 2021. He turned 59 just early this year. Meanwhile, Shibata is now 28 years old, meaning that the "Lord of War" actor is 31 years her senior. Despite their ages, Cage and his wife have been happily married for years and are now proud, doting parents to their first child August Francesca. The young tot — whom they named after Cage's late father — was born on September 7, 2022, in Los Angeles, according to People. "Nicolas and Riko are happy to announce the birth of their daughter," a rep for the couple said at the time, adding, "Mother and daughter are doing fine."

Speaking with Access Hollywood in April 2022, Cage — who is already a father to two sons, Weston and Kal-El — said he was thrilled to welcome a baby with Shibata. "I'm extremely excited! My boys are all grown up, and I miss going to the toy store. I miss singing lullabies and rocking in the rocking chair," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting back to that." He also expressed his excitement to be a #girldad on "The Kelly Clarkson Show" that same month. The "Renfeild" star told Clarkson, "It's gonna be the biggest adventure of my life. So, here we go."