Boris Johnson and Indian-origin wife Marina Wheeler seek divorce

Boris Johnson and his India origin wife, Marina Wheeler on Friday announced that they plan to divorce. Britain’s former foreign secretary has been recently in controversies that the flamboyant politician has cheated on his lawyer wife. A joint announcement was made by the couple after the alleged unfaithfulness of Johnson was highlighted in a report that appeared in the Sun newspaper.

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The couple had been married for 25 years and according to a statement revealed, they decided that it was in their best interests to separate. "We have subsequently agreed to divorce and that process is underway. As friends, we will continue to support our four children in the years ahead. We will not be commenting further," it added.

The daughter of former BBC journalist Charles Wheeler and his second wife Dip Singh, Wheeler is a reputed human rights lawyer. Owing to the wife’s Indian roots, Johnson has often made a remark that he is the son-in-law of India.

Johnson, during his term as London Mayor in 2013, branded himself as the “first and only mayor of London with real live relatives in India.”

Johnson and Wheeler have four children in their marriage. According to the Sun newspaper reports, their 25-year-old fashion journalist daughter Lara said her mother will “never take him back” after the latest affair.

Johnson’s reputation has been on the edge with multiple affairs hovering in the past. He even fathered a child with a former art consultant lover. He was dismissed from the Conservative party frontbenches in 2004 after lying over an alleged affair with British journalist and writer Petronella Wyatt.

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As a Brexit frontrunner within the ruling Tory party, Johnson has credited his wife as a key voice in his decision to support Britain's exit from the European Union (EU) before the June 2016 referendum. 

The veteran Conservative party MP had resigned from the Cabinet in July and reports suggest that his opposition to British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit strategy is to be blamed for this decision. This move is widely seen as eyeing an entry into Downing Street.

(With PTI Inputs)

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