Brian Cox married his second wife Nicole Ansari after giving her an ultimatum - telling her they either needed to exchange vows or split up.

The 77-year-old 'Succession' actor tied the knot with Nicole in 2002 after two years of dating and he's revealed they decided to walk down the aisle after he realised she was on the verge of ending the relationship because she "wasn't happy" him working away so much.

In an interview with The Sunday Times newspaper, he explained: "Over the next two years [after they started dating], I was away so much with work she ended up spending more time with my assistant in London than she did with me.

"I was playing Dennis Quaid's father in 'The Rookie' and she came out to see me in Austin, Texas. She wasn't happy.

"I said we can either split or we can get married."

Nicole agreed to marry Brian and the pair eloped to Las Vegas the next day. The actor went on: "We went to the Little White Wedding Chapel in Vegas the next day. That was 24 years ago. It was great fun and that's been our relationship ever since."

It comes after Brian revealed his first marriage - to Caroline Burt from 1968 until 1986 - fell apart because of financial issues and he confessed his second marriage is much healthier because they allow each other to feel "free" and have separate bedrooms.

He told The Times: "The secret to a good marriage? Separate bedrooms. You visit one another. Your partner must feel free.

"My first marriage broke down because I was in my most ambitious period and I was ignoring a lot of stuff that was going on. My wife was very smart financially, and she did really well — she kept me afloat. But it was a strain on the pair of us and it broke us up."

Brian is dad to Margaret, 60, and Alan, 53, from his first marriage as well as Orson, 22, and 19-year-old Torin with his second wife.