Who is Nigella Lawson and is she married?
WITH her sexy and unique way of cooking, Nigella Lawson was an instant hit with fans when she shot to fame in the late 90s.
Since then she has forged an incredible career as a celebrity chef, in both the UK and around the world.
Who is Nigella Lawson?
Nigella Lawson was born on January 6, 1960, and has made her name as a food writer, gourmet, and journalist.
She is the daughter of the late Nigel Lawson, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer and leading member of the Tory party, and Vanessa (née Salmon) Lawson, whose family owned the J. Lyons and Co. food and catering business.
Her father passed away aged 91 on April 3, 2023.
Nigella rose to fame with her second cook book How To Be A Domestic Goddess, which won her the British Book Award for Author of the Year.
She has fronted numerous cooking shows in the UK and the US including Nigella's Christmas Kitchen, Nigella Bites, and Nigella Feasts.
The busy celebrity chef also has 12 bestselling cook books.
Is Nigella Lawson married?
Nigella married Charles Saatchi in 2003, two years after the death of her first husband John Diamond from throat cancer in 2001.
However, the couple split in 2012 after The Sunday People published photographs of Charles grabbing Nigella by the throat outside a restaurant in Mayfair.
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Charles dismissed the incident as nothing more than “a playful tiff” but he was cautioned for assault following a police investigation into the incident.
Nigella moved out of their home and their divorce was finalised within six weeks.
In 2022, the TV cook sparked romance rumours when she was spotted walking arm in arm with entrepreneur Alex Fane.
How many children does Nigella Lawson have?
Nigella has two children from her first marriage to her late husband John.
They first welcomed a daughter called Cosima, born in 1994.
After this, the couple had a second child in 1996, called Bruno.
What was the cocaine scandal?
The cocaine scandal emerged during the trial of Italian sisters Francesca and Elisabetta Grillo in 2014.
They were accused of defrauding £685,000 from Charles Saatchi, using company credit cards.
The twins, who were found not guilty, claimed they were allowed to spend vast sums on shopping trips to New York and luxury hotels as long as they kept Nigella’s cocaine use secret.
During the trial, Nigella admitted to snorting cocaine and smoking cannabis but insisted she had "never been an addict".
She said: “I’ve never been a drug addict — I have never been a habitual user.”
Nigella told the jury she had used cocaine on seven occasions.
The first six times were with her first husband John Diamond, who was dying from cancer at the time.
She added that while her marriage to millionaire art collector Charles crumbled, she snorted cocaine just once.
She admitted: “I feel ashamed but I have to be honest.
"I found it made an intolerable situation tolerable. It is a false friend and it is not a good idea.
“This is not something I’m pleased about but I felt I needed to get through my life.
"And it did help. I freed myself from a brilliant but brutal man.
“I’m now totally — cannabis, cocaine, any drug — free.”