Boris Johnson has separated from his wife of 25 years, Marina Wheeler, with the couple now in the process of divorcing, the pair have announced.
The former foreign secretary and the top barrister, both 54, confirmed their decision on Friday, after Johnson was reportedly accused of cheating on his wife once more.
“Several months ago, after 25 years of marriage, we decided it was in our best interests to separate,” the couple said in a statement.
“We have subsequently agreed to divorce and that process is under way. As friends we will continue to support our four children in the years ahead. We will not be commenting further”.
The Sun newspaper said on Friday that fresh allegations of an affair were discussed by the couple’s daughter, Lara, 25, at a recent party.
“Mum is finished with him. She will never take him back now,” she reportedly told a friend.
Johnson has been accused of affairs in the past, and married Wheeler in 1993 after meeting her during his first marriage to Allegra Mostyn-Owen.
An alleged fling with socialite Petronella Wyatt saw the couple split briefly in 2004, and they did so again after Johnson was accused of fathering a lovechild with arts consultant Helen Macintyre in 2010.
Wheeler, who qualified as a QC in 2016, was photographed in July moving belongings out of Johnson’s grace and favour home in Carlton Gardens, central London.
But friends close to the Conservative MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip told The Sun that the couple have not been seen together for some time.
One of the politician’s close friends told the newspaper: “They were fine last Christmas but there’s been strain since then.”
Johnson and Wheeler have three other children together – Milo Arthur, 23, Cassia Peaches, 21, and Theodore Apollo, 19.
Johnson is thought to be plotting a return to frontline politics following his resignation over Theresa May’s Brexit plan in July.
The Daily Mail reported on Friday that the disclosure of an alleged affair could have been orchestrated in order to “clear the decks” for a potential leadership bid by Johnson.