MICHAEL Gove is splitting from his wife Sarah Vine after 20 years of marriage.
The couple have “agreed to separate” and are “in the process of finalising their divorce”.
Friends said the pair had drifted apart and there was no one else involved in the split.
The pair married in 2001 and have two kids, Beatrice, 18, and William, 16.
A spokesperson for the couple said this evening: “Michael and Sarah have agreed to separate and they are in the process of finalising their divorce.v 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."
Read our Michael Gove live blog for the latest news and updates…
- Joseph Gamp
GOVE IS SECOND CABINET MINISTER TO SPLIT FROM WIFE IN SPACE OF A WEEK
It makes Mr Gove the second Cabinet minister to split from their partner in a week, after Matt Hancock left his wife Martha for aide Gina Coladangelo following the Sun’s revealing of their affair.
- Joseph Gamp
GOVERNMENT MINISTER MICHAEL GOVE AND WIFE SARAH VINE TO SPLIT
Senior Government minister Michael Gove and his journalist wife Sarah Vine are to split after almost twenty years of marriage, a joint spokesman for the couple said.
The high-profile couple married in October 2001 but have decided to end their relationship and are “in the process of finalising their divorce”.
Their spokesman told the PA news agency: “Michael and Sarah have agreed to separate and they are in the process of finalising 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.”
- Joseph Gamp
MICHAEL GOVE AND SARAH VINE 'DRIFTED APART'
A friend of the couple told the PA news agency that the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove and his wife Sarah Vine had "drifted apart".
"This is a difficult and sad decision for Michael and Sarah after 20 years of marriage," the friend said.
"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.
"Their absolute priority is the children."
- Joseph Gamp
SARAH VINE TALKS ABOUT 'WHY MEN LET THEIR EGOS DESTROY THEIR FAMILY' HOURS BEFORE ANNOUNCING SPLIT WITH HUSBAND MICHAEL GOVE
Sarah Vine talks about ‘why men let their egos destroy their family’ hours before announcing split with husband Michael Gove
- Joseph Gamp
MICHAEL AND SARAH DRIFTED APART SAYS FRIEND
A friend of the couple told the PA news agency that the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove and his wife Sarah Vine had “drifted apart”.
“This is a difficult and sad decision for Michael and Sarah after 20 years of marriage,” the friend said.
“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.
“Their absolute priority is the children.”
- Joseph Gamp
EXPLAINED: DO MICHAEL AND SARAH HAVE CHILDREN?
The couple share a son, William, and daughter, Beatrice. But Gove and his partner have decided to part ways.
Friends said the pair had drifted apart and there was no one else involved in the split.
A spokesperson for the couple said this evening: “Michael and Sarah have agreed to separate and they are in the process of finalising 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."
- Joseph Gamp
MICHAEL GOVE AND WIFE IN FINAL STAGES OF ‘FINALISING DIVORCE’
MICHAEL Gove is splitting from his wife Sarah Vine after 20 years of marriage.
The couple have “agreed to separate” and are “in the process of finalising their divorce”.
- Joseph Gamp
MICHAEL GOVE AND SARAH VINE PICTURED TOGETHER
- Joseph Gamp
EXPLAINED: WHO IS MICHAEL GOVE'S WIFE SARAH VINE?
Ms Vine was born in April 1967, making her 54 years old.
She is married to politician Michael Gove who was in the race to become Prime Minister before Boris Johnson took the role.
According to her Twitter account, Ms Vine is an animal lover who is the "trustee of a charity which rescues puppies and dogs from all over the world and brings them to the UK for a better life".
In 2013, Vine became a columnist for the British tabloid newspaper the Daily Mail. Some of her detailed accounts of her personal life have been controversial.
She is also godmother to former Prime Minister David Cameron's daughter Florence and has spoken of her "close friendship" with the former PM and his wife which included many family holidays together.
- Joseph Gamp
IS MICHAEL GOVE MARRIED?
Michael Gove married Sarah Vine, a columnist for the Daily Mail, in 2001.
She was believed to be influential in steering her husband's political career.
Sarah came out in favour of Leave in the UK referendum on EU membership.
But it has been revealed that the pair have decided to split up after 20 years of marriage.
Friends said the pair had drifted apart and there was no one else involved in the split.
- Joseph Gamp
EXPLAINED: WHAT IS GOVE'S ROLE IN THE CABINET?
The primary role of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is to provide income for the queen – the role includes administering the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster, but doesn’t actually play much of a role in the day-to-day management of the estates of the royals.
Key aspects of the job include, advising the PM on developing and implementing government policy, driving forward government business and implementation including chairing and deputy chairing Cabinet, committees and implementation taskforces.
Another key role of the job is overseeing devolution consequences of EU exit and overseeing constitutional affairs and maintaining the integrity of the Union.
Under Boris Johnson as PM, Gove was instructed to "turbo-boost" plans for a no-deal Brexit.
Along with Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid, Gove was tasked with pouring his full efforts into Brexit negotiations.
- Joseph Gamp
EXPLAINED: WHO IS MICHAEL GOVE?
Michael Gove was born in Edinburgh in 1967 and brought up in Aberdeen.
Gove was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in Boris Johnson's new Cabinet two years ago. He worked as a journalist upon leaving Oxford university, writing for local and national newspapers and appearing on radio and TV.
He worked at The Times, writing a weekly column for the newspaper. He has a son, William, and daughter, Beatrice. Gove was elected as an MP for Surrey Heath in 2005.
He went on to become Secretary of State for Education in 2010, Chief Whip in 2014 and Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice in 2015, before he was dismissed by Theresa May.
Following the 2017 General Election he was brought back with his appointment as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
- Joseph Gamp
HOW DID GOVE AND VINE FIRST MEET EACH OTHER?
Gove and Vine first fell in love when they both worked as journalists on the Times newspaper in 1999.
Just two years after their first meeting, they tied the knot.
They went onto become one of the most high-profile couples in Wesminister circles.
- Joseph Gamp
PICTURED: MICHAEL GIVE AND SARAH VINE IN 2006
Michael and Sarah leave Spencer House, London, after the wedding reception for Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall in 2006Credit: PA - Joseph Gamp
MICHAEL AND SARAH DRIFTED APART SAYS FRIEND
A friend of the couple told the PA news agency that the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove and his wife Sarah Vine had "drifted apart".
"This is a difficult and sad decision for Michael and Sarah after 20 years of marriage," the friend said.
"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.
"Their absolute priority is the children."
- Joseph Gamp
GOVE IS SECOND CABINET MINISTER TO SPLIT FROM WIFE IN SPACE OF A WEEK
It makes Mr Gove the second Cabinet minister to split from their partner in a week, after Matt Hancock left his wife Martha for aide Gina Coladangelo following the Sun’s revealing of their affair.
- Joseph Gamp
SEPARATION IS 'ENTIRELY AMICABLE' SAYS SPOKESPERSON
"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," said the spokesperson for Gove and his wife Sarah Vine, a well-known journalist.
- Joseph Gamp
FAMILY ASK FOR ‘PRIVACY’ DURING DIFFICULT TIME, SAYS SPOKESPERSON
A spokesperson for the couple said this evening: “Michael and Sarah have agreed to separate and they are in the process of finalising 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.”
- Joseph Gamp
SARAH VINE TALKS ABOUT 'WHY MEN LET THEIR EGOS DESTROY THEIR FAMILY' HOURS BEFORE ANNOUNCING SPLIT WITH HUSBAND MICHAEL GOVE
Sarah Vine talks about ‘why men let their egos destroy their family’ hours before announcing split with husband Michael Gove
- Joseph Gamp
GOVERNMENT MINISTER MICHAEL GOVE AND WIFE SARAH VINE TO SPLIT
Senior Government minister Michael Gove and his journalist wife Sarah Vine are to split after almost twenty years of marriage, a joint spokesman for the couple said.
The high-profile couple married in October 2001 but have decided to end their relationship and are "in the process of finalising their divorce".
Their spokesman told the PA news agency: "Michael and Sarah have agreed to separate and they are in the process of finalising 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."
- Joseph Gamp
COUPLE'S 'ABSOLUTE PRIORITY IS THEIR CHILDREN'
A friend of the couple told the PA news agency that the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove and his wife Sarah Vine had "drifted apart".
"This is a difficult and sad decision for Michael and Sarah after 20 years of marriage," the friend said.
"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.
"Their absolute priority is the children."
- Joseph Gamp
PICTURED: SARAH GOVE PICTURED LEAVING WEST LONDON HOME
Sarah Vine – journalist wife of Michael Gove – leaves home in West London today holding one of their three dogsCredit: gavin rodgers/pixel8000 - Joseph Gamp
'CLIMBING THAT FAR UP WESMINSTER'S GREASY POLE CHANGES A MAN'
"Climbing that far up Westminster’s greasy pole changes a person. 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 problem with the wife who has known you since way before you were king of the world is that she sees through your facade."
- Joseph Gamp
PICTURED: MICHAEL GOVE LEAVING WEST LONDON HOUSE THIS EVENING
Michael Gove leaves his home in West London todayCredit: gavin rodgers/pixel8000 - Joseph Gamp
VINE SUGGESTED WESTMINSTER COMES BETWEEN POLITICIANS AND THEIR FAMILIES
In a piece about former health secretary Matt Hancock's resignation, Vine write about how Westminster life can drive a wedge between partners.
In a revealing column, she said: "It is very hard to do these high-level, high-pressure, high-stakes jobs unless you have someone prepared to take up the reins in every other department of your life.
"But the problem is that inevitably sets you on different tracks. You become so entrenched in your respective roles that you begin to drift apart.
"Westminster is a place of myriad distractions for the politician seeking refuge from his or her home life.
"And when you feel disconnected like that, and because power is such an aphrodisiac, it doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to see how you can go from being happily married to the kind of person who gets caught so unfortunately on CCTV. Hancock’s behaviour may be shocking, but given the context it is entirely predictable."
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