Ex-Chancellor George Osborne and his wife Frances reveal they are divorcing after 21 years of marriage
- Osborne, 48, and his wife, 50, said decision was ‘mutual and long thought-out’
- The pair have two children together, Liberty and Luke, and remain ‘good friends’
- They met at a mutual friend’s house before getting married in 1998
Former Chancellor George Osborne and his wife Frances are to divorce after 21 years of marriage, they have announced today.
In a joint statement released today Osborne, 48, and his author wife, 50, said they remain ‘good friends’ and are ‘jointly devoted’ to their children Liberty and Luke.
They said the decision to part ways was ‘mutual’ and ‘long thought-through’.
Former chancellor George Osborne and his wife Frances are to divorce after 21 years of marriage
The pair are pictured together (right) in June 2012 and (left) two years earlier in June 2010
The pair met at a mutual friend’s house over Sunday lunch, before marrying in 1998.
The statement released today reads: ‘George and Frances Osborne have sadly decided to divorce after 21 years of marriage.
‘This is a long thought-through and mutual decision. They remain good friends and jointly devoted to their wonderful children.
‘For the sake of their children, they ask that the family’s privacy is respected. Neither George nor Frances will be making any comment.’
Osborne, who served as Chancellor of the Exchquer between 2010 and 2016, stood down as MP for Tatton two years ago and has gone on to hold a number of other roles.
He is a Northern Powerhouse Partnership chairman, and during his editorship of the London newspaper has served as a dean’s fellow at the Stanford Graduate School for Business, an honorary professor of economics at the University of Manchester, and a fellow at the McCain Institute in Washington DC.
He was appointed as an adviser to US investment giant Blackrock in early 2017.
Mrs Osborne, who was educated at the independent Marlborough College and Oxford University before training as a barrister, is the daughter of Conservative former minister Lord Howell of Guildford.
In a joint statement released today Osborne, 48, and his author wife, 50 (pictured together in June 2013) said they remain ‘good friends’ and are ‘jointly devoted’ to their children Liberty and Luke