Movies

Brian Cox’s Epic 8-Year Wait for First Date

BBG News

Brian Cox and his wife, Nicole Ansari, have been married for more than two decades, but their relationship didn’t initially progress without some bumps in the road.

The pair, who exchanged wedding vows in 2002 and have two boys named Orson Jonathan and Torin Kamran, crossed paths eight years earlier before finally going on their first date together.

On this past week’s episode of The Dish podcast, hosted by the charismatic duo Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett, I, an overjoyed fan, had the pleasure of learning about the heartwarming encounter between Brian, aged 78, and the radiant Nicole, at 56. They shared an amusing tale of their initial meeting and how our beloved Succession star, that’s me!, ended up feeling rather foolish afterwards. What a delightful story to unravel!

In the context of the show, Brian shared that they initially crossed paths in 1991 during his performance of King Lear in Hamburg.

At a gathering following the performance, he confessed, “There was an event afterward, and I encountered a lively young lady with a lot of…hair. She still has some left…

He mentioned that the conversation between them lasted for what felt like endless hours. He was taken aback, thinking to himself, “Wow, this is remarkable, this is extraordinary.

Yet it wasn’t the fairytale story he hoped as Nicole was already in a relationship at the time. 

He went on to say: ‘It was discovered that she was involved in a romance with another actor from the same troupe, as it often happens among them.’

Later the pair met in Milan where Brian falsely assumed Nicole had come to visit him. 

In Milan, unexpectedly, she appeared. This triggered a moment of surprise within me. We were both in a restaurant at the time. Impulsively, I stood up, sensing that she had come to see me. Admittedly, it was a rather foolish reaction, as you might understand.

Everyone entered, making me feel rather embarrassed since I reacted with an “Oh,” but it turned out that situation was not as I thought.

Nicole affirmed: ‘Indeed, I spotted him, with my partner following me. In that moment, I realized, it seemed I had arrived for my partner, not for him.’

Eight years after their initial encounter, Nicole took the initiative to reconnect with the other person.

Eight years after that, I found myself on Broadway performing art, acting as an artist, and I arrived at the theater quite late.

Upon entering, the stage doorman Jerry greeted me with, “Hi Brian! There’s a note for you. A woman left this message last night. You can find it in your cubby hole – that’s where she left it.

I called the provided number, which turned out to be her temporary residence, back in the days before smartphones. I asked if she could relay a message, but she informed me that she was currently engaged on another call.

Suddenly, someone approached me, beaming with excitement, and declared, “Your long-awaited moment is here! You’ve scored a ticket for tonight’s event!

When I chatted with Nicole, I told her, “I have a ticket available for tonight’s show if you’re interested.

So, she sprinted the entire distance and ended up with a citation. Here’s what I came up with, quite inventively…I extracted the ticket. Later that evening, I danced tango.

I was terrible at tango dancing, but I still decided to give it a shot. Lo and behold, she approached me, and that was the end of the story for me…

Earlier on, Brian had acknowledged that their marriage wasn’t always smooth sailing, and they faced a critical juncture during their second year together in Texas, where Brian suggested they either part ways or make it official by getting married.

Last year, he mentioned that they visited the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas the day after that. That was 24 years ago. It was a blast, and since then, that’s how their relationship has remained enjoyable.

Additionally, Nicole admitted that their relationship had encountered difficulties, describing it as four years of unrelenting turmoil. Fortunately, they managed to navigate these challenges with the help of therapy.

She shared that the past 25 years haven’t been like a storybook romance. Instead, we experienced four extremely difficult years. We sought help from couples counseling, which turned out to be very beneficial for us.

As a dedicated enthusiast, I’ve always been ready to put in the effort. You see, following that initial euphoria of falling head over heels, every romance encounters stages where one must ponder: is this commitment worthy of my energy and devotion?

In 2023 the couple renewed their wedding vows in a surprise Vegas ceremony. 

Dish from Waitrose is available on all podcast providers. 

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2025-04-02 02:36

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