Charles Saatchi files for divorce from Nigella Lawson after assault
Charles Saatchi is filing for divorce from Nigella Lawson following the incident last month where he was pictured with his hand around his wife’s throat at a restaurant in Mayfair.
Saatchi, 70, told the Mail On Sunday that he had “clearly been a disappointment” to Lawson in the last year, adding: “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.”
Lawson left the marital home with her two children from a previous marriage in the aftermath of the incident. Prior to accepting a police caution for assault, Saatchi described events as a “playful tiff”. Lawson appeared to be tearful and in distress in the photographs.
Saatchi continued: “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.”
He added that the situation was “heartbreaking” for both parties and said the couple had become estranged and drifted apart over the last year.