Irresponsible Isla Fisher is in cloud-cuckoo land thinking women don't need marriage – here's why we MUST tie the knot

The Sun

19-07-2025

ISLA Fisher is in cloud-cuckoo land when she tells women not to bother with marriage. In the wake of finalising her divorce from the comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, she re-posted this on Instagram:
For all the men who say, 'why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?'
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Here's an update for you: 'Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realise it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage.'
She's funny, I'll give her that.
Fisher's post was branded 'savage' but telling women not to bother getting married is also reckless, irresponsible and out of touch.
For the majority of women with children, marriage is a safety net and an essential aspect of financial security for them and their kid's future.
Isla Fisher is clearly bouncing back after the breakdown of her marriage and feeling cheerful enough to post devil-may-care statements.
Whether her sausage-and-pig quip was a light-hearted joke or a savage dig at her ex-husband's manhood (as some have suggested) who knows.
Last week when both Fisher and Baron-Cohen were photographed at Wimbledon, attending separately and narrowly avoiding an awkward public run-in, she was relaxed enough to cheekily tag him on social media: 'Hang on? Who's watching the kids? @sachabaroncohen'
The former Home and Away actress is now a movie star in her own right, and for the past 14 years has been married to the millionaire Borat actor and comedian.
With or without Baron Cohen, 53, the 49-year-old is financially independent – and will no doubt be even wealthier after the multi-million-dollar divorce settlement.
But for most women the breakdown of a relationship looks a lot less rosy.
In fact, many remain in unhappy marriages because of the financial upheaval of breaking up a family and the uncertainty of the future.
All The signs Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher had secretly split from girls' nights out to hiding ring finger
Even pursuing child maintenance after divorce can be stressful, with ex-partners not bothering to make payments to support their children.
If you're not married the situation is even bleaker. One of my closest friends has three children under ten with her long-term partner.
Like Isla and Sacha, they had been together 14 years and she now finds herself single. After years of suspected infidelity, he recently moved out and has set up home with his new, younger girlfriend.
My friend had always wanted to get married, both from a commitment perspective and for financial security, but he wasn't keen.
They bought a house together, lived together, had three children together, but never made it legal. 'Now I'm left high and dry,' she tells me.
'The emotional fallout has been horrendous, but I hadn't realised I'd struggle financially like this. He works, I work – I thought having a double income would help.
But I'm bringing up the children and he doesn't contribute a penny. I guess if we were married, I'd have more rights.'
She's certainly right there. Both during the marriage and if fate so has it, after divorce, married individuals have better financial security.
They are entitled to marriage allowance during the relationship and all sorts of other tax benefits such as avoiding capital gains tax.
Should the marriage end, assets are divided fairly, one half may have a claim to a share of the other's pension, and if one half earns significantly less than the other then he or she could receive spousal maintenance.
I'm a single mother and have brought my 4-year-old son up alone since his birth.
We've never had a penny in financial support and that's harder than it sounds.
Every mortgage instalment, every council tax, water, gas and electricity bill, the Christmas presents, the swimming lessons or football lessons, every aspect of parenting is on my back.
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Tone-deaf
The childcare costs when you're a working single mother are astronomical. If you get sick, you can't afford to take time off, because you're the bread-winner.
You don't go for drinks out or dinners or date nights because the focus is on making a living and spending time with your child, and anyway getting a babysitter is a luxury!
It's my choice. My son's father has never been in our lives. We are a happy (if small) family of two, and the bond I have with my child is incredibly close.
But the responsibility is exhausting – knowing that when your child grows up and needs an allowance, or wants to go to the cinema with friends, or when they get to university, the finances will still be all on you.
That's why Isla Fisher's cheeky 'don't bother with marriage ladies' strikes me as tone-deaf and irresponsible.
Until recently, getting married was very much about security for women.
You couldn't risk getting pregnant out of wedlock, you needed the security of your husband's roof and income, and you didn't want the public shame of being an unmarried mother.
In fact, until the end of the 19th century, a woman and everything she owned was basically her husband's property.
It was only the landmark legislation in 1882 (the Married Women's Property Act) that gave women the right to own, acquire and dispose of their own property.
Everything has changed in the past few decades. We've had women's lib, abortion rights, endless equality legislation, birth control, and far less social stigma around cohabiting and sex before marriage.
We have far more freedom to forge a career, earn a living and make our own life choices. Unsurprisingly, marriage rates have been in decline.
'Think about words'
In the 1970s, approximately 7 in 10 people over the age of 16 were married, and by 2024 this figure had fallen to around 4 in 10. It's predicted that marriage rates will continue to drop, with only around 3 in 10 people married by 2050.
When my friend says she regrets not getting married - she's absolutely right.
Although it's a more level playing field than in previous decades, when an unmarried couple separates they don't have the same legal rights to financial support and property division as married couples or those in civil partnerships.
The general rule is that each person keeps their own assets, and joint assets are divided, based on ownership and contribution.
Some unmarried couples draw up cohabitation agreements, but many do not – they drift into years of living together, raising a family, buying property, and then end up in terrible conflict and financial strife when their relationship ends.
The Fisher/Baron Cohen post-divorce settlement was worth a rumoured $75 million dollars but one thing's for sure: they're not short of a few quid.
They won't need to argue about who moves out of the family home and who rents nearby – because they own multiple properties and have been living between Perth, Sydney, London and Hollywood.
I know countless women who end up renting or sofa surfing with friends or family after divorce. This celeb couple won't be quibbling about who covers the mortgage or the food bills, who buys the children's new shoes or the school uniforms.
Life after divorce clearly suits Isla, she's looking radiant and has her mojo back.
She and Baron Cohen are amicably co-parenting, declaring 'we remain friends and committed to co-parenting our wonderful children'.
Whatever ended their marriage, the wounds are healing and Isla is clearly excited about her post-divorce freedom.
Nonetheless, she might want to think about her words.
Forget 'buying the cow or getting the milk for free' - for us everyday women, the break-up is when the hard work really begins…and sadly, if we haven't bought the pig, we're not entitled to so much as a slice of bacon.