Nigella Lawson’s Husband: Who Charles Saatchi Is

Nigella Lawson’s public work

Nigella Lawson is an English food writer, television cook and former journalist. She is known for her food writing and cooking programmes, and has sold more than 12 million cookery books worldwide. After graduating from the University of Oxford, Lawson began her career in journalism, working as a book reviewer and restaurant critic.

Lawson became deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times in 1986 before leaving the following year to pursue freelance writing. Her first cookery book, How to Eat, was published in 1998 and became a best-seller. Her second book, How to Be a Domestic Goddess, won the British Book Award for Author of the Year. She later presented television programmes in the United Kingdom and internationally, including Simply Nigella, and judged the American competition The Taste.

Charles Saatchi’s identity

Charles Saatchi is a British businessman born in Baghdad in 1943. He was born the second of four sons to Nathan Saatchi and Daisy Ezer. His public identity is closely connected with advertising, art collecting and the ownership of Saatchi Gallery.

Saatchi co-founded the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi with his brother Maurice. The brothers later formed another agency, M&C Saatchi. Saatchi is also associated with the Young British Artists, including sponsorship involving Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.

The relationship between Lawson and Saatchi

Lawson married art collector Charles Saatchi in September 2003. Their marriage ended after photographs of Saatchi holding Lawson around the neck were published by The Sunday People in June 2013. Saatchi described the pictures as showing a playful tiff and said that he was trying to emphasise a point.

After a police investigation, Saatchi was cautioned for assault, and Lawson left the family home. Lawson said in court that Saatchi subjected her to intimate terrorism and threatened to destroy her unless she cleared him in court. She also described casual cruelty, controlling behaviour and occasional drug use.

Lawson said Saatchi prevented her from entertaining at home and punished her for attending a birthday party for a woman friend. Saatchi announced the divorce in early July, saying that he had been a disappointment to Lawson and that they had become estranged and drifted apart.

The Grillos were accused of misusing credit cards belonging to Saatchi’s private company. Saatchi was also accused of starting a smear campaign against Lawson in the British media through public relations man Richard Hillgrove before the trial had ended.

Nigella Lawson’s wider family record

Nigel Lawson is Nigella Lawson’s father. Vanessa Salmon is her mother. Dominic Lawson is her sibling. These relationships form part of her family record and are separate from her marriages.

Cosima Thomasina Diamond and Bruno Paul Nigel Diamond are Nigella Lawson’s children. John Diamond was her husband from 1992 to 2001, before her marriage to Charles Saatchi, which ran from 2003 to 2013.

Saatchi’s work away from Lawson

Saatchi is identified as a British businessman. His business career included co-founding Saatchi & Saatchi with his brother Maurice and forming M&C Saatchi. His work has also included ownership of Saatchi Gallery and involvement with the Young British Artists.

His public profile has combined advertising with the art world. The evidence identifies him as an art collector and records his ownership of Saatchi Gallery. It also identifies his sponsorship of artists associated with the Young British Artists, including Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.

What has not been publicly reported

No account of how Charles Saatchi and Nigella Lawson met has appeared in print. The circumstances of their separation have not been publicly explained beyond Lawson leaving the family home and Saatchi announcing that they had become estranged and drifted apart.

Detailed accounts of Saatchi’s personal life outside his business and art activities have not been published. The precise circumstances of the credit-card accusations involving the Grillos have also not been publicly reported.