Nicola Sturgeon & husband Peter Murrell split as she confirms marriage has ended

NICOLA Sturgeon has revealed that her marriage to Peter Murrell has ended after being secretly separated "for some time".

The former First Minister shared the news with followers on social media this morning.

Posting on her Instagram story, Ms Sturgeon wrote: "With a heavy heart I am confirming that Peter and I have decided to end our marriage.

"To all intents and purposes we have been separated for some time now and I feel it is time to bring others up to speed with where we are.

"It goes without saying that we still care deeply for each other, and always will.

"We will be making no further comment."

It comes as both are still under investigation as part of Operation Branchform - a cop probe into alleged missing SNP finances.

Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell first met back in 1988 when she was just 18 years old at an SNP youth event and they officially became a couple in 2003.

With a heavy heart I am confirming that Peter and I have decided to end our marriage... we have been separated for some time now

Nicola Sturgeonpost on Instagram

They got married seven years later in July 2010 at Oran Mor in Glasgow.

He had been at the helm of the SNP for more than a decade while she was Deputy First Minister to Salmond at the time.

The pair don't have any children together and Ms Sturgeon previously spoke out about suffering a miscarriage when she was 40, shortly before the 2011 Scottish parliamentary election campaign.

Back in 2016, she said she was preparing to announce news of the pregnancy with Mr Murrell when she lost the baby.

In 2023 she then said she feared she "wouldn’t have been taken as seriously” as a politician if she’d had kids.

Ms Sturgeon told a BBC Scotland podcast: “There’s been lots and lots of speculation over the years about why I don’t have kids now.

“But, if I look back to my younger days, there was probably an element of, ‘if I was to have a child while pursuing a political career, maybe I wouldn’t be taken as seriously’.

“So, yes, it does come at a cost.”

The announcement of their shock split comes just 15 months after Ms Sturgeon insisted she would be married to Mr Murrell “for a long time to come”.

In October 2023, she said her marriage remains strong during a deeply personal interview.

It goes without saying that we still care deeply for each other, and always will

Nicola Sturgeonpost on Instagram

In a podcast interview with TV presenter and former Tory MP Gyles Brandreth, she said: “We’re still married and we will be married for a long time to come.”

And it wasn't the first time that Ms Sturgeon publicly defended the 'power couple'.

Three months prior she rubbished any idea that their marriage was on the rocks, telling an audience it’s “not something anyone should worry about".

At an Edinburgh Fringe event in August 2023, interviewer Iain Dale asked her what impact the probe was having on her marriage.

At the time, she said she "chooses to talk about happier things" with Mr Murrell and said: "My marriage is not something anyone should worry about."

But they had rarely been spotted together since Mr Murrell stood down from his post amid a storm during the party leadership contest in March 2023 about false details being issued by his party HQ.

Both Ms Sturgeon and the ex-SNP chief exec have been arrested as part of the long-running cop probe after allegations were made about £600,000 of donations made to the party.

The former SNP leader was released without charge but has remained under investigation by police in connection with the probe having been questioned by cops on June 11, 2023.

It came after the arrest of both Mr Murrell and the then SNP treasurer Colin Beattie.

Mr Murrell was later charged in connection with alleged embezzlement from the SNP in April last year and cops handed over their report into the investigation to the Crown Office in August.

However, there has been no movement around the probe since and we told in October how cops were “frustrated” with the lack of progress around the case.

Last month Ms Sturgeon revealed that she is still in the dark about the investigation and insisted that she is “getting on with my life as best I can”.