Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s second divorce has been granted, leaving him free to plan his third wedding when the lockdown restrictions are relaxed.
Marina Wheeler applied for a decree absolute in February and the Mirror understands that it was granted before Mr Johnson’s fiancee Carrie Symonds gave birth to his child last week.
Ms Wheeler, a leading barrister, launched divorce proceedings last year.
On February 18, she obtained permission from the Central Family Court in London to apply for a decree absolute.
The Mirror understands the paperwork was filed “immediately” and the decree was issued. It is believed they could each end up with £4million from the divorce settlement.
On February 29, Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds announced they were engaged and “hatching” a baby in “early summer”.
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The child, a boy named Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, was born on April 29.
Mr Johnson, 55, and 32-year-old Ms Symonds are the first unmarried couple to officially live together in Downing Street.
During their 27-year marriage, Mr Johnson and Ms Wheeler had four children – Lara Lettice, who is 26, Milo Arthur, 24, Cassia Peaches, 22, and Theodore Apollo, 20.
Mr Johnson also has a fifth child, an 11-year-old daughter Stephanie, with art consultant Helen McIntyre.
He initially denied paternity and during a court battle, Mr Johnson being named as Stephanie’s father, it was claimed another child had been conceived as a result of his extra-marital affairs.
Sonia Purnell, Mr Johnson’s former colleague at the Telegraph and author of his biography Just Boris, says Ms Wheeler played a key role in his rise to the top in politics.
She told the Mirror: “Marina was a very important and supportive figure in Boris’s career.
“She persuaded him to take the McPherson Report into institutional racism in the police seriously. She persuaded him, as Mayor of London, to be more liberal on issues like immigration.
“He does owe her an awful lot. She has been a real stabilising influence in his life.”
The couple’s daughter Lara reportedly branded her father a “selfish b*****d” when news of Mr Johnson’s affair with Ms Symonds broke in 2018.
Ms Wheeler has endured a difficult two years since the separation. She had surgery for cervical cancer last year and her mother Dip Singh, 87, died as the divorce was going through in February.A Flourish chart
Ms Wheeler has said her cancer diagnosis made her appreciate “the incalculable value of holding close those who you love and trust”.
A source close to the family said: “Marina has been through so much over the last two years. Fortunately her family have been very close and supportive, particularly her sister Shirin.
“Marina was an equal in that marriage. There was a point where Boris seemed to have a sense of real regret that he had endangered his marriage with his affairs.
“Although there is no doubt she was hugely hurt by all his betrayals she would have no interest in standing in his way. She will want to move on with the next part of her life.”
