Nigella Lawson's husband Charles Saatchi is seeking a divorce.

Disclaimer: This post may be distressing for someone who has been a victim of domestic abuse.

By MAMAMIA TEAM

Charles Saatchi, Nigella Lawson’s husband, has announced that he is seeking a divorce.

The art collector has come forward with an unexpected statement, claiming that he is seeking divorce because he was disappointed that Lawson did not defend him when pictures that appeared to show Saatchi assaulting Lawson were published worldwide.

In a statement to The Mail newspaper in the UK he said, “I am sorry to announce that Nigella Lawson and I are getting divorced.”

The Mail further reports that Saatchi had not yet told his wife of plans to start divorce proceedings – and that his intentions were being revealed ‘exclusively’ to the paper. Lawson will presumably find out this information secondhand.

Saatchi continued: “I feel that I have clearly been a disappointment to Nigella during the last year or so, and I am disappointed that she was advised to make no public comment to explain that I abhor violence of any kind against women, and have never abused her physically in any way.”

The 70-yearld art collector and businessman was seen clutching 53-year-old Lawson’s throat and pulling her nose on June 9 – and a paparazzo captured the disturbing incident on film. Onlookers at the restaurant where the couple were photographed said that Saatchi and Lawson were having a heated argument at the time, and Lawson left the restaurant in tears. You can read more about the shocking incident here.

A week later, the photographs were published and reproduced worldwide – and Lawson moved out of the home she shared with her husband. According to Saatchi, they have not spoken since.

Saatchi claims that the reason the couple are getting divorced, is because on the day the incriminating photographs were published, Lawson’s PR adviser Mark Hutchinson suggested that Saatchi should apologise for the alleged assault. Saatchi, who says the incident was not an assault, refused to do so. He reportedly told his wife, “Are you crazy, you know that’s not he truth.”

The couple then had an argument, and Saatchi told Lawson she should move out of the family home. The next day, Saatchi went to the Charing Cross police station and accepted a caution for the assault.

Saatchi further claimed that the photograph could have “equally” depicted Lawson grasping at his throat, as they are “instinctively tactile people”. He said:

“This is heartbreaking for both of us as our love was very deep, but in the last year we have become estranged and drifted apart… The row photographed at Scott’s restaurant could equally have been Nigella grasping my neck to hold my attention – as indeed she has done in the past.”

Saatchi had previously called the physical fight a “playful tiff”. He told London’s Evening Standard newspaper: “There was no grip, it was a playful tiff. The pictures are horrific but give a far more drastic and violent impression of what took place. Nigella’s tears were because we both hate arguing, not because she had been hurt. We had made up by the time we were home. The paparazzi were congregated outside our house after the story broke yesterday morning, so I told Nigella to take the kids off till the dust settled.”

In light of these revelations, our thoughts are with Nigella Lawson. We hope that she is safe and well, and surrounded by friends and family who will protect and support her unconditionally.

If this post brings up issues for you, or you just need someone to talk to, please call Lifeline on 131 114.