George Osborne has announced he and his wife are getting a divorce after 21 years of marriage.
The former chancellor is legally separating from his wife, Frances Osborne, after making a “long thought-through and mutual decision”.
The pair released a statement that said: “They remain good friends and jointly devoted to their wonderful children.”
“For the sake of their children, they ask that the family’s privacy is respected. Neither George nor Frances will be making any comment.”
The 48-year-old Tory and his 50-year-old wife share two children, Liberty and Luke, and are thought to have been “living separate lives” since 2017, after he was sacked by new Prime Minister at the time, Theresa May, and replaced by Philip Hammond.
Prior to this, he was Chancellor of the Exchequer between 2010 and 2016 in former Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative government. After losing his job, he resigned as MP for Tatton, a role he had held since 2001, and opted for a career outside of politics.
However, his marriage crumbled during that time, despite having been together for more than two decades.
The former couple are believed to have met at a friend’s house and married in 1998. It is not clear whether the marriage broke down as a result of his new career choices – now being the editor of the London Evening Standard and an adviser to 9Yards Capital – or if they simply felt they were publicly able to live separate lives following his resignation from politics.
While Osborne has only just begun the divorce procedure, it could be a lengthy process, as a new report by the Nuffield Foundation stated legally separating in England and Wales can be very complicated.
The Law Gazette published findings that revealed couples divorcing here have to go through a number of legal steps, while those in other countries may only need to undertake one or two.
Divorce could be simplified to just two steps, the Nuffield Foundation asserted, which would make the procedure easier to understand for many people.
The report said: “The simplicity of the process elsewhere contrasts with England and Wales where the petitioner must reaffirm their desire to divorce on multiple occasions.”
One divorce that is dominating headlines at the moment is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s separation from his wife Princess Haya.
The Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, who is thought to be worth $4.5 billion (£3.59 billion), could be facing the most expensive divorce of all time in the UK.
Indeed, his 45-year-old wife might even fight for sole custody of their two children, aged seven and 11years old, who are currently living with their mother in a London mansion.
According to the Daily Mail, a source close to Princess Latifa, one of the Sheikh’s older children, said he should not be allowed custody, claiming the father previously banned his daughter from trying to flee from the UAE.
The human rights’ group, Detained in Dubai, stated: “Even if he got partial custody, I am certain that the first time the children went to the UAE, they would become captives and never allowed to see Princess Haya again.”
For divorce solicitors in Epsom to talk through the procedure, give us a call today.
