Personal Life
Huhne married Greek-born economist Vicky Pryce (formerly Chief Economist in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) in 1984 shortly after she divorced her first husband, with whom she had two young daughters. Huhne and Pryce had three children together. In a video statement made during the 2007 Liberal Democrats leadership election campaign, Huhne described his philosophy about family life: "Relationships, including particularly family relationships, are actually the most important things in making people happy and fulfilled". Talking about his wife to The Independent in 2008 he stated: "I also have a very hard-working and extremely intelligent wife, who manages to earn far more than I do." An election flyer distributed in his Eastleigh constituency prior to the May 2010 general election included several photographs of himself with his family members, each image accompanied by a hand-written caption.
In June 2010, after being observed and photographed spending a night in his constituency home with a woman other than his wife, Huhne admitted that he had been involved in a relationship with Carina Trimingham and stated that he had decided to leave his wife. to be with her. Huhne's wife and children were unaware of his behaviour and plans. Within one week of Huhne's declaration, Pryce filed for divorce on the grounds of Huhne's "admitted adultery". A statement issued on her behalf by London-based solicitors Osbornes said: "The events of the past week have come as a tremendous shock to both Miss Pryce and her family." Trimingham had worked on Huhne's campaigns for the Liberal Democrat leadership in 2006 and 2007 and was a paid staff member on his 2010 General Election campaign. She was press officer for Brian Paddick during the 2008 Mayor of London election, and is now campaigns director at the Electoral Reform Society. Huhne was defended by Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude who opined: “What goes on in people’s private lives is a subject that fascinates the tabloid press but is irrelevant to the job they are trying to do.”
Huhne owns seven houses—five purchased as investments on which he makes money as rental properties and two in which he lives (one in Eastleigh, his constituency, and a town house in Clapham, South London). His wealth is estimated as £3.5 million.
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