By Victoria Mckeown-
Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove and his wife Sarah Vine are finalizing their divorce, after 20 years of marriage.
Tory Cabinet Office Minister Gove, 53, and journalist Vine, 54, went public with their separation on Friday. A statement on behalf of the couple said: “Michael and Sarah have agreed to separate and they are in the process of finalizing their divorce.
“They will continue to support their two children and they remain close friends. The family politely ask for privacy at this time and will not be providing any further comment.”
A friend of the couple said the split was amicable and their priority remains the children.
It’s said the couple had “drifted apart” over the last few years. The friend told PA: “This is a difficult and sad decision for Michael and Sarah after 20 years of marriage.
“It is an entirely amicable separation and there is no-one else involved. They have drifted apart over the past couple of years but they remain friends.
”A friend of the couple said the split was amicable and their priority remains the children / AFP via Getty Images
Recently, columnist Sarah said Matt Hancock’s affair with Gina Coladangelo was “entirely predictable” because marriages suffer when one partner works in politics.
She wrote: “The problem with the wife who has known you since way before you were king of the world is that she sees through your façade… She knows that, deep down inside, you are not the Master of the Universe you purport to be.”
Vine shocked many observers last week when she wrote about how Matt Hancock’s resignation as health secretary after having an affair with his adviser – and breaking Covid rules with someone outside of his household or bubble before it was allowed – showed that Westminster life could drive a wedge between partners.
She praised the Camerons’ commitment to one another, saying that “every time he seemed in danger of drifting away on a cloud of self-importance (usually after a few glasses of wine), she would bring him back down to earth”.
“Westminster is a place of myriad distractions for the politician seeking refuge from his or her home life,” Vine continued, adding that because power is an “aphrodisiac” it was possible to understand “how you can go from being happily married to the kind of person who gets caught so unfortunately on CCTV”.
She added that “the problem with the wife who has known you since way before you were king of the world is that she sees through your facade” and that there were some politicians who could walk away from power and others “who will compromise everything for the sake of it”.
Westminster changes people, Vine said, commenting on how wives of senior politicians “are still more or less the same person they were when they got married” but their husbands sometimes were not.
“Climbing that far up Westminster’s greasy pole changes a person,” she wrote. “And when someone changes, they require something new from a partner. Namely, someone who is as much a courtesan as a companion, one who understands their brilliance and, crucially, is personally invested in it.
“Not someone who thinks it’s all a monumental nuisance and wishes they would get a proper job that doesn’t involve people poking cameras in your face and commenting on your poor choice of footwear.” The insight caused a stir among some commentators.
Contact
Sarah Vine has been contacted by The Eye Of Media.Com as recently as last week following this publication’s inquiry into her involvement in the royal family feud through multiple media publications revealing a strong partisanship towards the royal family, which was also featured in more than one media outlet. There were questions as to the potential reflection her involvement could have on her husband who is a senior member of the government, but the editorial decision of this publication decided against authorizing a full publication, to avoid any potential strain in their marriage arising from such a publication.
News of the divorce comes as a surprise and has already led to relief that we hadn’t immediately pursued the avenue planned.
Gove had been among those tipped to take over from Hancock, but Sajid Javid was appointed. Hancock said he did not want his personal issues to “distract attention”, apologised for breaking Covid rules and said he needed to be “with my children at this time”.