Divorce Settlement for Boris Johnson and Marina Wheeler

The Central Family Court has approved a financial settlement for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Marina Wheeler. This is Johnson’s second divorce with the parties separating in 2018 after 25 years of marriage. They have 4 children together.  

Reportedly, Johnson is the first prime minister in modern times to be divorced whilst in office. The last prime minister to do so was The Duke of Grafton way back in 1769!

The Judge, Sarah Gibbons allowed Journalists to attend the hearing last week but made it clear that no details pertaining to the financial settlement could be reported by the media. As such, all such financial details were dealt with in writing at the hearing and were not made available to Journalists.  

Wheeler was also given permission by the Judge to apply for the Decree Absolute. This is the document which formally dissolves a marriage. Ordinarily, an application for a Decree Absolute needs to be made within 12 months of the date of the granting of the Decree Nisi (which is the first stage of a divorce). For an application to be made after this time limit, a reason must be given to the Court as to why there has been a delay. Whilst no details were reported as to the reason given by Wheeler, the most common reason for a delay that we have found in practice, is because of protracted negotiations between the parties.