7 Celebrity Couples Who Tied The Knot During The Pandemic
Celeb weddings tend to be lavish settings with star-studded guest lists. Instead, these lovebirds said "I do" in small, intimate weddings
Celebrity couples who tied the knot during the Covid-19 pandemic had to go low-key, forgoing the usual high-profile coverage, lavish setting, and star-studded guest list.
Instead, these lovebirds said "I do" in small, intimate weddings, often in their homes. Or, in the case of American singers Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, in a chapel he built on his sprawling ranch.
Due to travel restrictions, some could not invite their nearest and dearest, such as Singaporean singer Kelly Poon, who held her banquet in Taipei without family.
Others did not get the wedding of their dreams, such as American actor Nicolas Cage, who wanted to wed his fifth wife, who is Japanese, in a traditional Shinto ceremony in Kyoto.
Closer to home, local singer Benjamin Kheng and actress-DJ Naomi Yeo went for an intimate do, instead of having everyone getting smashed at a big wedding party.
On the bright side, the pandemic ensured that those who wanted to keep their wedding under wraps were able to pull it off, such as former Spice Girl Emma Bunton, who finally got hitched after 23 years of dating British singer-turned-chef Jade Jones.
And of course, no pandemic-era love story is without a virtual wedding ceremony - American actor Sean Penn said his vows to Australia-born actress Leila George via Zoom.
Oscar winner Nicolas Cage, 57, made news when he got married for the fifth time in February - to a Japanese woman 30 years younger than him.
Little is known about his bride, Ms Riko Shibata, 26, who is also four years younger than his first son. The couple were first spotted together in February last year in New Orleans, and this is her first marriage.
Cage announced his engagement in August last year, revealing that the pandemic had prevented him from proposing in person.
He said at the time: "She left New York and went back to Kyoto, Japan, and I went back to Nevada and I haven't seen her for six months. We're really happy together and we're really excited to spend that time together so I finally just said, 'Look, I wanna marry you' and we got engaged on FaceTime."
The engagement ring was FedExed to her and, when travel restrictions were lifted, they tied the knot at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas in a small and intimate wedding.
According to his representative, they exchanged traditional Catholic and Shinto vows with poetry from Walt Whitman and haiku sprinkled in.
Cage was previously married to American actress Patricia Arquette, singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Presley (he was a big fan of her late father Elvis Presley), actress Alice Kim and make-up artist Erika Koike.
Text: Suzanne Sng/The Straits Times