Isla Fisher has laid out her dating dealbreakers, declaring backpacks and exposed heels instant turn-offs.
The Australian actress, 50, who finalized her divorce from Sacha Baron Cohen, 54, last year after 13 years of marriage, appeared on KIIS FM’s The Smallzy Show alongside her Spa Weekend co-star Adam Demos to discuss her return to the dating scene. Fisher didn’t mince words when host Kent Small asked what gives her the “ick” about potential partners.
“Backpack the wrong way, backpack period,” she said. “If a bloke shows up in a backpack, wrap it up, Wayne. It’s done.”
Fisher clarified that the bag itself isn’t the problem, but rather how it’s worn. “It’s like you can wear a backpack, but it’s if you click your backpack together, if you click it there, it’s not good,” she explained.
Footwear proved equally important to the Now You See Me star. Fisher singled out deck shoes as “already quite aspirational and a bit of an ick” on their own, but revealed one recent encounter took things to another level entirely.
“He slipped the heel off and he was just wearing them like a plimsoll,” she said. “I could see his heel, repulsive.”
The actress also weighed in on how leading men move on screen, arguing that an unconvincing running style can kill the romance for female viewers almost instantly.
“When a man runs on film and it’s just like, it looks like a sprinkler moving, it’s just wrong,” she said. She credited Tom Cruise as one of the rare actors to have “nailed” a believable sprint, adding, “Like Tom Cruise has really nailed the sexy run.”
Fisher’s candid dating commentary comes as she settles into single life following one of Hollywood’s most private splits. She told Elle Decoration last November that moving into her newly finished London home brought unexpected emotions. “When it all arrived, I did have a bit of a cry because this was my first time as a single woman, being in a home of my own,” she shared.
“Trying to create a new life from a grassroots level, at least emotionally, has been challenging, but deeply rewarding,” she added in that interview. “I’m enjoying this new version of my life.”
The actress has also credited her female friendships with helping her navigate the transition. “My friendships, my female friendships have really been instrumental to me discovering or recovering that strength,” she said. “I’m incredibly grateful.”
In the viral moment that preceded her current chapter, Fisher and Baron Cohen jointly announced their split in April 2024 via matching Instagram Stories. The pair, who met at a Sydney party in 2001 and married in 2010, shared a photo of themselves in tennis whites with a caption reading: “After a long tennis match lasting over twenty years, we are finally putting our racquets down.” The message revealed they had quietly filed for divorce in 2023 and asked for privacy as they co-parented their three children. The divorce was finalized in June 2024, with both subsequently posting supportive messages about each other on social media.
Fisher said that the divorce was “the most difficult thing I’ve been through,” though she said the experience had taught her about her own resilience. “We are building a new, healthy version of what our family looks like,” she added at the time.
The actress has been refocusing on her career following years centered on family. “I’m really excited for the next chapter,” she told Harper’s Bazaar Australia last summer. “I’m refocusing on my career because previously I was very much focused on my kids, which I still am, obviously, because [they’re] my true love. But I’m enjoying tackling work again.”
Fisher can next be seen in Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, which held its London photocall in November.