An unlikely bond is growing between two of Australia’s most eligible celebrity singles, reports claim.
According to New Idea magazine, actress Isla Fisher, 48, has struck up a ‘secret online friendship’ with Channel Seven hunk Dr Chris Brown, 45.
Isla is newly single following the breakdown of her 13-year marriage to British star Sacha Baron Cohen, while Chris recently confirmed his single status in an interview with Stellar magazine following an on-off romance with model Brooke Meredith.
‘Isla is a self-confessed animal lover and really values her private life. She is very much Chris’ type,’ one insider told the publication.
‘Isla is currently filming in the UK, so they are likely texting or messaging each other via social.’
Shacking up with an Aussie bloke seems right up Isla’s alley, given that she has previously spoke about how much she loves Australia’s down-to-earth lifestyle.
‘I feel like I can be myself in Australia. I miss it so much when I’m away and I have a very Australian sensibility,’ Isla told Marie Claire magazine in 2021.
‘I miss it so much when I’m away and I have a very Australian sensibility. Whenever I meet another Aussie, I always think, “Oh my gosh, we’re twins!”‘ she gushed.
It is also thought that one of the catalysts behind her split from Sacha was her desire to spend more time in Australia, while her husband did not.
Isla owns an apartment in Sydney’s Woollahra while Chris lives nearby in Coogee.
While neither Isla nor Chris have spoken about each other publicly, they do follow each other on Instagram, with Isla previously liking several of the celebrity vet’s posts.
Isla and Sacha announced in April that they had quietly separated last year. They are parents to daughters Olive, 17 and Elula, 13, and son Montgomery, nine.
Insiders have claimed their marriage had been ‘shaky’ for years, with Sacha reportedly struggling after making the ‘sacrifice’ to relocate their family to Australia back in 2020.
They had moved from Los Angeles to Sydney in 2020, then to Perth – where Isla’s family live – in September 2021, to escape Sydney’s strict Covid lockdown rules.
At the time, they said the switch to Western Australia would be permanent.
However, their move from the US to Australia was said to be ‘difficult’ for Baron Cohen because he was settled in Hollywood, and it was a shorter flight to London from there, too.
Meanwhile, Chris confirmed his single status in May, telling Stellar magazine that he was looking for ‘the right girl’ to start a family with.
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‘I would still like to have kids – I still feel that’s very much a priority… I feel like it will happen when it happens’ he said.
‘In a perfect world I’d have liked to have had kids, but it’s just not the way it’s worked out. I feel that the right girl will be there at the right time’.
Chris said he didn’t want to rush into a relationship that isn’t right but said he definitely has babies on the brain.
‘Maybe my biological clock is ticking harder. I don’t know’ he said.
Chris split with longtime girlfriend Liv Phyland in 2019 and was last linked to stunning Sydney model Brooke Meredith from 2020 until 2022 – although they were rarely seen together – and they are believed to have broken up late in 2022.
In 2023 he was linked to The Project’s Sarah Harris and KISS FM’s Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, but both women have denied they dated the vet.