Image by getty images

Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson and multi-millionaire art collector Charles Saatchi confirmed on Monday they were getting divorced, a month after a newspaper published photographs of him with his hands around her throat outside a London restaurant.

The photos showed Lawson, hugely popular in Britain for her television cooking shows, in tears and brought Saatchi, a former advertising tycoon, a police caution for assault, though he tried to play down the incident as a “playful tiff”.

Lawson, 53, the daughter of former British finance minister Nigel Lawson, said nothing publicly after the row, but groups campaigning against domestic abuse and violence against women complained over the lack of action taken against Saatchi.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

A statement from Lawson’s publicist confirmed on behalf of the couple that were divorcing, adding that “neither party will be making any financial claims against the other”.

Fiona Shackleton, who represented Paul McCartney during his divorce from Heather Mills, was working for Lawson to bring the matter to a “swift and amicable” conclusion, it said.

“Both parties would appreciate privacy for themselves and their children at this difficult time,” the statement said.

Lawson, nicknamed the “domestic goddess” after one of her cookery books, married Saatchi in 2003 after her first husband, journalist John Diamond, died of throat cancer. She has two teenage children, Cosi and Bruno, from her first marriage.

Saatchi, 70, ran the world’s largest advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi with his brother in the 1980s.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount