Nigel Farage's love life: Everything to know about his failed marriages and current partner

Making headlines is what politician Nigel Farage does best. Indeed, during the Brexit campaign, he did not hesitate to run around in a giant bus, splattered with slogans to get people to vote 'leave'. Since then, he has not been made Prime Minister, and instead of the Houses of Parliament, he seems to prefer appearing on our TV screens, in shows such as I'm A Celeb... Get Me Out of Here! Earlier this month, on 3 June 2024, Nigel Farage announced he would be the leader of Renew UK for the upcoming general election.

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With the man constantly in the spotlight, here's a look into this rather stormy love life.

Nigel Farage has been married twice

Farage's first marriage

In November 1985, Nigel Farage was involved in a nasty car accident, as he was run over and it led him to be hospitalised. It was in hospital that he met an Irish nurse, Gráinne Hayes, who later became his wife. The couple met while they were both in their early twenties, and they got married in 1988. He told the Telegraph in 2015:

My recovery was a miserable period: I was put on traction — a series of pulleys and weights — but the treatment saved my leg. It put paid to any more golf — but I married the nurse who treated me. A cliché, I know, but not only did I get my life back, I got a wife and two fantastic sons.

The couple had two sons before getting a divorce in 1997.

Farage's second marriage

Two years later, he married his second wife. The pair met in Frankfurt, Germany, while Farage was travelling for business in 1996. He later told reporters:

She was a stunning government bond broker whose brisk efficiency at first sight belied her ethereal appearance. She could have stepped into a pre-Raphaelite painting no questions asked.

After having two daughters together, Nigel Farage separated from his second wife, German-born bond broker Kirsten Mehr in 2016. She told reporters that their daughters did not see their father much, as he 'drank and smoked too much'. Although they have been separated for nearly twenty years, it is understood that have yet to get a divorce.

When the couple announced their separation, it was reported that Farage was already living with right-wing French citizen Laure Ferrari.

How Nigel Farage met Laure Ferrari

The pair met back in 2007 when Ferrari was working as a waitress in Strasbourg as well as being an English graduate. Things moved pretty fast between them, as that same year, he hired her as his parliamentary assistant, but that's not all. As she needed a place to stay in the UK, Nigel Farage took her in and gave her free lodgings. Tabloids were quick to assume the politician left his German wife for the French woman. Rumours of their relationship started at the one-year anniversary of Brexit, when they were seen slow-dancing together. A person present at the party explained:

There was no question they were a couple. Laure was putting on quite a display. She seemed to twerk a bit and was all over Nigel. From the look on his face, he was loving every minute.

At first, Farage denied those rumours, explaining that their relationship was purely professional and that he was only lodging her as a favour to someone who had nowhere else to go.

His relationship with Ferrari

Nigel Farage's latest girlfriend has known the politician for nearly twenty years. Now 44 years old, Laure Ferrari was born and raised in France before becoming involved in politics, and she has been reported as close to far-right parties in France. She is fifteen years younger than Nigel Farage, and he used to be her employer. Indeed, the politician gave Ferrari her first job in politics when she was 28.

According to anonymous sources close to the couple, who spoke to The Standard, Nigel's French girlfriend Laure Ferrari dreams of moving into Westminster with him, and some even call her his 'secret weapon'. Indeed, experts believe we could see more of Laure Ferrari as Farage tries to build a stable family man image to bring back disenchanted Tories for the upcoming election on 4 July 2024. The French national does not hesitate to speak out on her boyfriend's behalf. When he announced he would take part in reality TV showI'm A Celeb... Get Me Out of Here! she also defended him and hinted at his possible return to politics, telling GB News:

Why would you do that if you didn’t have an ulterior motive in mind?

Showing her unconditional love and support, she even flew to Australia to meet him as he exited the jungle after he had been eliminated from the game. At was at this point that their relationship was made official, although rumours had been going around for years. Laure Ferrari explained her decision to become his official girlfriend came from her 'duty to support him'.

While Ferrari was more than happy to publicly show her support for Farage's stint on I'm A Celeb, one of his former lovers used the occasion to display her distrust towards him—his alleged ex-mistress.

Nigel Farage's scandalous relationships

Annabelle Fuller, who has since changed her name to Trixy Sanderson, claims that she had an extramarital affair with Farage from 2004 up until 2016. This is while he was still married to Kirsten Mehr, and reportedly seeing Ferrari as well.

When the politician announced his reality TV debut, Sanderson told reporters:

It’ll be cathartic to see him take on something gross with dirt, bugs and snakes, ideally in an enclosed space underground. He would really hate that.

What happened between Farage and Sanderson?

In 2010, Nigel Farage was hospitalised after a violent plane crash. While he was in hospital, Sanderson and Laure Ferrari had the pleasure of running into each other, which resulted in a pretty angry email from the French national, calling English women 'drunken tarts'. As Sanderson tried to visit her secret lover, she was reportedly met with an angry Ferrari:

I didn't even make it inside before a woman who said she was his local aide barred my way.

The politician met Trixy Sanderson in 2004, when she started working as his speechwriter and adviser. After rumours of their relationship got out of hand, Sanderson admitted she had an affair with Farage for over a decade. According to several government workers, the affair was not a secret in Westminster, especially as they are said to have been intimate in several Parliament offices. One MEP told reporters: