Millionaire art collector Saatchi and tv chef Lawson get divorce

Millionaire art collector Charles Saatchi and celebrity chef Nigella Lawson were granted a divorce by a London court on Wednesday, a month after paparazzi photos showed Saatchi holding Lawson by the throat.

   

The pictures, taken at a London restaurant, caused a public outcry and discussion of domestic violence.

   

Saatchi dismissed the pictures as showing a "playful tiff" but accepted a police caution in order to stop the incident "hanging over" them.

   

Lawson, 53, made no public comment throughout the affair, and Saatchi, 70, later announced they were to divorce, blaming Lawson for having failed to defend him in public.

   

The High Court granted the couple a decree nisi, which means the court sees no reason why they cannot divorce.

   

The couple, who are reportedly worth a combined 228 million dollars, said they would not make financial claims against each other.

   

They married in 2003. Lawson has two children from her first marriage with John Diamond, a journalist who died in 2001.

     

-Sapa-dpa