[Omah]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/nigella...#ixzz2X0MDFmVf

Nigella Lawson is preparing to DIVORCE her abusive *husband in the wake of the Sunday People photographs that captured her being *throttled by him in public.

As she faces the biggest decision of her life, the woman the world knows as the “domestic goddess” has *confided in her loyal circle of friends, colleagues and advisers that she is on the verge of ending her 10-year marriage.

A well placed aide told how Nigella, 53, feels “broken and *desolate”.

If she takes him back her *flourishing career in the US could suffer if Nigella is viewed as a woman prepared to put up with domestic violence.

The aide, who has been in regular contact with her since the incident 10 days ago, said: “Her heart is bleeding right now. She wants out.

“Neither she nor Charles are *interested in counselling or trying to save the marriage. It seems they’re done and she is broken and desolate.”

The aide is among a group of friends who have spoken anonymously to the Sunday People.

Nigella’s heartache was clear when she was seen out and about on Friday with no sign of her wedding ring.

According to those close to her it was a sign that her intention to divorce Saatchi is all too real.

A legal adviser with links to the couple has told the Sunday People a separation agreement is expected to be drawn up shortly and a divorce *finalised in two years.

The adviser said: “It should be done confidentially and quietly and in a dignified manner.”

But should the divorce turn *acrimonious Nigella may face losing a chunk of her £20million fortune as most of her fame and earnings have come while married to him.

Another source, who has also *spoken to Nigella in the last seven days, said: “This is not how Nigella imagined her marriage might end but she realises it was the tipping point.

“The marriage has been under strain for some time but the *choking incident was the end.

“If anything it is a *relief for her that it could all be over very soon. There’s a sense she has *already moved on in her own head. Rather than *dwelling on the past she is already thinking about life without him.”

Another *matter Nigella’s friends say she will need to consider is how her relationship will affect her career in the US. She has just *finished a series there starring as a judge on a *reality TV show called The Taste.

Nigella is a domestic *goddess in American eyes too. To stay in a violent relationship could *harm her reputation as a strong woman.

The female source said: “Nigella’s friends know there will be no getting back together. If there was, her career in America would nose-dive. Charles comes across as a thug in an Armani suit after this whole sorry episode.”

Saatchi, according to friends, has become a cantankerous old man. One of Nigella’s confidantes said: “Saatchi used to be the king, regarded as the man who made Brit Art. Now he comes across as a grumpy old man.

“The 17-year age difference is *becoming a problem. When they first married it didn't seem so great .Now it is like an abyss. There are so many things that they don’t see eye to eye on.

“Nigella lives for food and parties while Charles is slowly starting to be just the opposite. Not many of Nigella’s friends like him but they tolerate him. He is quite old *fashioned.” Saatchi *divorced his first wife Doris in 1990 after 17 years of marriage.

His second wife Kay divorced him 12 years ago for unreasonable *behaviour after 11 years. They have one daughter, Phoebe, 19.

His estimated worth is £120million but divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt said: “She would not be *entitled to his assets because he amassed most of them before the marriage.

“Anything they have amassed during the *marriage, such as *property bought together, they’d divide equally.”