‘Life with Boris had become impossible’: PM’s ex-wife Marina Wheeler speaks about their marriage

Boris Johnson’s ex wife Marina Wheeler has described the dying days of their marriage as ‘impossible’ – revealing for the first time that it was her that ended the union.

The 56-year-old author and lawyer said the breakdown of their relationship happened as she was battling cervical cancer.

Ms Wheeler said ‘The divine plan, it seemed, had gone awry’ as she spoke of the 25-year marriage for the first time.

And she disclosed the process of separating from her husband had been ‘grinding’. 

Her comments emerged today just six days after the Prime Minister and Carrie tied the knot in a secret Westminster Cathedral ceremony.

Ms Wheeler said: ‘The divine plan, it seemed, had gone awry.

‘My four children and I already had tough stuff to handle.

‘My 25-year marriage had become impossible, so I ended it, but the whole business was grinding, so why was I being doled out more?

‘Of course, that’s not how cancer worked. Two years on, I can see I was lucky,’ as revealed by the Daily Mail’s Sebastian Shakespeare.

In an interview with Radio New Zealand she added that she never felt in Mr Johnson’s shadow.

She said: ‘I didn’t feel when I was pursuing my legal career, which of course was a pretty busy one because it’s quite a stressful kind of job.

‘I was lucky enough to do all sorts of really, really fascinating cases.

‘I don’t think then I felt in anyone’s shadow particularly.’

The pair announced in September 2018 they had separated ‘several months ago’ after 25 years of marriage.

But divorce proceedings continued until November 2020 when the union was finally dissolved.

Mr Johnson was married to first wife Allegra Mostyn-Owen for six years before marrying Ms Wheeler.  

They tied the knot in 1993 and have four children together. 

Her comments come less than a week after his latest wedding, which attracted controversy itself over where it took place.

The Prime Minister is notoriously secretive about his private life and jokes are still made over how many children he has fathered. 

The row this week was over how twice-divorcee Mr Johnson had been allowed to remarry in a Catholic church.  

The Prime Minister was baptised as a Catholic but was confirmed as an Anglican as a teenager when he was at Eton.

But the Diocese of Westminster said, as someone baptised in the faith, it meant his previous failed marriages were not considered valid because they were not Catholic ceremonies.

It prompted a row over how Mr Johnson’s ex wives must feel and what it meant for the children he had with them.  

One priest claimed it had been ‘The using of Canon Law to the benefit of the privileged & at the cost of the Church’s integrity’.

The baptism meant the Prime Minister could marry for the ‘first’ time in a Roman Catholic church.

Despite explanations about how their wedding could have been held in accordance with Vatican doctrine, the subject was being keenly discussed yesterday by Westminster Cathedral worshippers.

Some wondered whether Mr Johnson had needed to convert before the nuptials took place, while one even brought up Henry VIII’s troubled love-life as a potential precursor.

This week a Diocese of Westminster spokesman confirmed: ‘With regard to divorced persons, a baptised Catholic who has contracted a marriage recognised in civil law but without observing the requirements of Catholic Canon Law is not recognised as validly married in the eyes of the Catholic Church.’ 

Austen Ivereigh, a Roman Catholic author, commentator and biographer of Pope Francis, said on Twitter: ‘Many will ask how it is that the Catholic Church, famous for its vigorous commitment to the permanence of marriage, should be witnessing the marriage of a twice-divorced PM who is publicly notorious for the opposite? What kind of message does that send?

‘But Catholics have a right to the sacraments and if they fulfil the requirements in law, and properly enter into them, no one can stop them exercising those rights.’ 

A Westminster Cathedral spokesman added: ‘The bride and groom are both parishioners of the Westminster Cathedral parish and baptised Catholics.

‘All necessary steps were taken, in both Church and civil law, and all formalities completed before the wedding. We wish them every happiness.’

Carrie Symonds hired three decoy dresses to throw snoops off the scent before their secret marriage.

She rented the dresses from eco fashion business My Wardrobe HQ and returned the one she settled on for £45 from Greek designer Christos Costarellos.  

Created as part of an exclusive bridal capsule, the gown (which sells for £2,870 full price) was handmade from tiers of wispy ivory tulle spun with silk, while the latticework trims and hand-cut ‘Kopaneli’ corded lace appliqués are signatures of the atelier and woven using traditional Greek patterns.

The new Mrs Johnson, 33, often orders clothes to the couple’s Downing Street home so wanted to throw snoops off the scent by hiring three other bridal frocks.    

 The company she ordered the dresses from only found out they had supplied the wedding dress for the UK’s first lady when they saw pictures of the secret wedding. 

Co-founder Sacha Newall told The Times: ‘We didn’t know what it was for. We were just asked to supply some items. Then we saw what happened this weekend. It was all a bit of a surprise.’

They revealed that Mrs Johnson has asked for four dresses in a variety of shades.  

And it’s not the first time Mrs Johnson has worked with the company – she used their services when she was finding a dress to meet the Queen at Balmoral in 2019. 

Ms Newall added that while Carrie isn’t particularly into fashion she is making an effort to take an interest. 

She said: ‘There is an awareness that as the prime minister’s wife she needs to be dressed in a certain way… She doesn’t want to feel that she is letting the side down.’  

And the first time Carrie was spotted standing next to Mr Johnson on the steps of Downing Street in her iconic pink Ghost dress, she had rented the frock from My Wardrobe HQ.