Sarah Jessica Parker was on Sunday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live, and the appearance has gifted us quite a few gossip-worthy moments. The biggest one is probably her stunned/scared speechless reaction to Lauren Sánchez Bezos’ digital Vogue cover. Totally Team Sarah on this one, some things are that frightening. Plus I always love a deliciously awkward moment on TV. (And real life, who am I kidding!) But Sarah also brought the drama when host and good friend Andy Cohen asked if the rumor was true that she and Nicolas Cage dated in the 1990s. Indeed it is! Sarah confirmed (in a very demure, very mindful way), and the next day Nicolas Cage confirmed as well. He even went a step further, spilling the tea on how she ghosted him after they had lunch with her mom at the Russian Tea Room. Oh what a tea that must have been…
And just like that, Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicolas Cage’s ‘90s romance was over.
After the Sex and the City alum recently confirmed a decades-old rumor that she and the National Treasure actor dated around the time of their 1996 [sic] rom-com Honeymoon in Vegas, Nicolas took a trip down memory lane to share his side of their relationship.
“I cared about Sarah, but I don’t think I passed the Mom test,” he told E! News in a July 14 statement. “I recall sitting down with her and her mother for dinner at the Russian Tea Room, and I don’t know if it was my blue Vanson Leather motorcycle jacket (which I still have) or my sinusitis, but I didn’t hear from her again.”
Nicolas eventually moved on, marrying Alice Kim in 2004. The couple welcomed son Kal-El Coppola the following year, before breaking up in 2016.
The Oscar winner then tied the knot with Riko Shibata in 2021. Their daughter August Coppola Cage was born in 2022.
As for SJP? She also found love after her split with Nicolas.
In 1995 [sic], the And Just Like That star married Matthew Broderick, with whom she shares son James Wilkie Broderick, 22, and twins Tabitha Broderick and Marion Broderick, 13. According to Sarah, she knew the Broadway star was the one “pretty early” on in their relationship.
“I remember I had to leave to go on location to shoot a movie, and we were on East 10th street,” she recounted during her July 13 appearance on Watch What Happens Live. “I was getting in a car to go away for a while. I remember thinking, ‘I think I love him. Should I say it?’ Because neither one of us had said it yet.”
Sarah said she confessed her feelings first since there was “nothing to lose.”
“I knew he was incredible,” she added, “just spending a little bit of time with him.”
Quick corrections for the E! News reporters: Sarah and Matthew Broderick married in 1997, not 1995, and Honeymoon in Vegas came out in 1992, not 1996. Ghosting is bad enough, but it would have been in exceptionally poor taste if Sarah started dating Nic Cage one year into being married to someone else, lol. Anyway, I love that Cage is dishing out the details. Plenty of Hollywood stars would be afraid their machismo would take a hit, but Cage is upfront about it all with, “My sinusitis was showing, I didn’t pass the Mom test, my girl then ghosted me, and I still remember exactly what I was wearing when this happened 30 years ago.” Excellent. It’s like he’s auditioning for the Paul Giamatti role in whatever film Alexander Payne makes next. As for Sarah’s role in this, girl!! If you ask me, this is way worse than breaking up with someone via post-it note! At least the post-it had communication, but ghosting does such a number on the ghosted. I’ve never been ghosted by a romantic partner, but I have from someone whom I thought was a very close friend. You just keep asking yourself, “WHAT did I do?” All that being said, I’m not sure if a timeline exists in which Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker are the right match.
PS — Pajiba’s headline “Is ‘And Just Like That…’ Written By ChatGPT?” still lives rent-free in my head.
Photo note by CB: Photos are screenshots from the 1992 movie Honeymoon in Vegas co-starring the late great James Caan and via YouTube/Movieclips. Other photos credit Getty, Sebastien Fremont/Starface Photo/Cover Images, Selene Daniele/AGF Foto/Avalon, Look Press Agency/Look Press/Avalon, Photoshot/Avalon, Nicky Nelson/Wenn/Avalon
I read Nic Cage’s comments in his voice and I’m still laughing.
Is “sinusitis” a euphemism? If he was high while meeting her mom, I would understand why she would ghost him.
Right. A constantly dripping nose during dinner is making a poor first impression on girlfriends mother.
@sevenblue right? And considering this was all not that long after her years-long relationship with RDJ ended because of his addiction issues I could see her mother being like, “No! Run! And don’t look back.” But at the same time NC is such an unusual & eccentric dude that I could also see that being very off-putting to some. Great story regardless. And I remember hearing the dating rumors back then but then they disappeared just as quickly, now we know why lol.
@smcollins, oh right, I forgot about her history with RDJ. That would certainly play a part. After reading “sinusitis”, I searched for reporting on Nicolas Cage for drug abuse. Apparently, he talked about his addiction to hard drugs in his 20’s. His story made sense after that.
This is story is so funny to me. Regardless of what sinusitis means here, passing the mom test is an important thing in any relationship. Stars are just like us!
I love Nic Cage. He’s unhinged in the best way.
It’s weird to remember when he looked like a normal person, even sometimes a heartthrob, instead of the crazed gramps he is now.
The pic of young SJP looks like Jen Aniston.
I was ghosted once. Boyfriend of 2 years, I was crazy about him. That was 27 years ago. It still stings when I think about it, which is rare and obviously I moved on and have the most amazing husband. It’s the lack of closure and the why. What did I do? I’ll never know. It’s a sucky thing to do to someone. Anybody who does that sucks in my opinion, unless there is abuse involved and the person has to ghost to escape.