When she moved out, her husband played down photographs of him grabbing her by the throat and tweaking her nose at a restaurant as a ‘playful tiff’.But Nigella Lawson appeared yesterday to have dashed any hopes Charles Saatchi may have that their marriage can be reconciled.
She sent a van to take away not just her clothes but also her precious cookery utensils and recipe books – everything, it seems, but the kitchen sink.
The arrival of the removal team at the £14million marital home in Chelsea was the clearest sign yet that the TV chef’s marriage split may be permanent.
They appeared in the middle of the afternoon, evidently while Saatchi was out.
Under the direction of Miss Lawson’s sister Horatia, they trooped in and out of the house removing box after box, including ones labelled ‘cookbooks’ and ‘kitchen’ as well as a food processor, clothes and paintings.
Other items including Miss Lawson’s weights and exercise ball, dresses, hats, toys, toiletries and even a bag of wrapping paper were loaded into the van.
One box contained a can labelled Cannabis – which despite the alarming name is a legal energy drink containing hemp extract.
Miss Lawson was not seen and Saatchi turned up only after the process was complete. There were so many possessions that the removal team made two runs.
One onlooker said he had been told that some statues had been removed earlier in the day.
‘It looked very much like Nigella is moving all of her personal possessions out of the house – and isn’t going to be back in a hurry,’ he said.
A man was seen removing a box that had 'cookbooks' written on it from Lawson and Saatchi's house
A Gibson guitar is carefully packed into place among Ms Lawson's other possessions
She was spotted yesterday with Bruno, her 17-year-old son from her first marriage, before heading back to the £10,000-a-week Mayfair flat where she has been staying.
The 53-year-old has been seen there several times looking drawn and without her wedding ring, and while her two children and sister have visited, there has been no sign of her husband of ten years.
Saatchi, 70, has accepted a police caution for assault for the scenes that provoked their split, despite playing it down.
The advertising tycoon turned modern art mogul was photographed grabbing Miss Lawson by the throat and tweaking her nose outside Scotts restaurant in central London during an extraordinary 27-minute incident three Sundays ago.
Moving out: Miss Lawson's keep-fit equipment is packed into the van, along with bags and some summer hats
A plastic box full of personal effects is loaded, including, it appears, a can of Cannabis Energy Drink
A worker removes a box which appears to contain the TV chef's blender
When further pictures of him twisting Miss Lawson’s nose emerged, he said he had merely been trying to clean her nose.
Miss Lawson’s spokesman last night continued to refuse to comment either on the assault incident or on the state of her marriage.
But moving her belongings to a different house would appear to signal the start of a divorce between the millionaire celebrity chef and Saatchi, who is said to have a fortune of up to £100million.
