Sex and politics often appear to go hand in hand, with several politicians either finding themselves brought down by sex scandals or having affairs while in office. In new excerpts from journalist and former magazine editor Tina Gaudoin's The Incidental Feminist, she revealed that Margaret Thatcher, known as 'The Iron Lady' also engaged in multiple affairs. Join HELLO! as we examine some of the biggest political affairs from Boris Johnson's multiple instances and the Profumo scandal, which is partially blamed for bringing down the Conservative government at the time…
The affairs were revealed in a new book
Margaret Thatcher
Tina Gaudoin has revealed that the late Margaret Thatcher, who served as Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 is believed to have had multiple affairs during her time as a politician. The first affair is said to have been "very early on in her parliamentary career" while the second was during her time as PM. While the other parties in the affairs have not been revealed, it's believed that one of those was Sir Humphrey Atkins.
The late Sir Humphrey served as Thatcher's Northern Ireland Secretary and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, which was a spokesperson for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Tina said: "The joke about Atkins was that for someone who was not very good, he kept getting promoted. Now, why was that?"
The former PM is reported to have had multiple affairs
Boris Johnson
Unlike other politicians, Boris's affairs began before he assumed high office. Eight years before becoming an MP, he cheated on wife Allegra Mostyn-Owen with childhood friend Marina Wheeler; the marriage ended when the affair was uncovered. The politician later married Marina, but during their marriage, he romanced Spectator journalist Petronella Wyatt. Tabloids reported the affair in 2004, with Boris denying the allegations, however, when they were revealed to be true, he was sacked from his Shadow Arts spokesperson role by then-Conservative leader Michael Howard.
Tabloids have also alleged that Boris had affairs with journalist Anna Fazackerley and Helen Macintyre, while Jennifer Arcuri has claimed to have had an affair with the former mayor of London between 2012 and 2016. In 2018, he started an affair with press officer Carrie Symonds, which led to the breakdown of his marriage to Marina. The politician has reportedly fathered several children as a result of his affairs, and he's known to avoid questions about how many children he has had.
The politician was Secretary of State for War at the time of the affair
John Profumo
One of the biggest political sex scandals involved John Profumo, who was serving as Secretary of State for War at the time, and model Christine Keeler. The politician was married to actress Valerie Hobson when he started seeing the then 19-year-old Christine in 1961. The affair stayed under wraps until in 1963, Labour MP George Wigg revealed it, claiming he was concerned about national security, as Christine was also involved with Yevgeny Ivanov, a Russian spy.
John denied the affair on the floor of the House of Commons but later admitted that he had lied to the House. He subsequently resigned from his ministerial position and parliament and stayed silent about the affair for the rest of his life. The scandal is believed to have contributed to the defeat of the Conservative Party at the 1964 General Election.
The scandal has been dramatized multiple times, including most recently in The Trial of Christine Keeler.
John (centre) and Edwina (right) had a four-year affair
John Major and Edwina Currie
Former Prime Minister John Major successfully sued two magazines after they accused him of having an affair with Downing Street caterer Clare Latimer. Although the news was false, the politician did have an affair between 1984 and 1988 with fellow Conservative politician Edwina Currie. The news was revealed when Edwina published The Currie Diaries in 2002, in which she detailed the affair in sordid detail.
The relationship ended when John became a Cabinet minister as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the presence of his bodyguards made conducting an affair much harder. John has said he was "ashamed" of the affair, although his wife, Norma, decided to stay with him.
Matt resigned as Health Secretary when the affair was uncovered
Matt Hancock
One of the most recent political affairs was unveiled in 2021 when The Sun published images of Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock having an affair with adviser Gina Coladangelo. The affair happened during the coronavirus pandemic, and at the time, the guidelines didn't allow for intimate contact between people from different households. Although Prime Minister Boris Johnson accepted the politician's apology, he still resigned from the government because of the affair. He subsequently left his wife, Martha Hoyer Millar, to have a relationship with Gina.
Robin left his wife for his aide
Robin Cook
It's not just Conservative politicians who have affairs, as shortly after he was appointed Foreign Secretary, Labour's Robin Cook revealed he was leaving his wife, Margaret Whitmore, following an affair with his aide, Gaynor Regan. Robin and Gaynor married just four weeks after his divorce from Margaret was finalised and they remained together until his death in 2005.
Former PM Harold Wilson's affair was revealed last year
Harold Wilson
Former Labour PM Harold Wilson also had an affair, with the news being shared in 2024, nearly 30 years after his death in 1995. Although the late politician was suspected of romancing his political secretary, Marcia Williams, it was his deputy press secretary, Janet Hewlett-Davies, that he wooed. The revelation was confirmed by Joe Haines, Harold's press secretary, who wanted the historical record of his boss's time in office to be accurate.
"We kept it secret because we thought it would be used damagingly against him at that time," Joe explained at the time. "There's no reason for that now, and we waited until they had both died – Wilson some time ago and Janet just a few months ago, and so I felt as a sometime historian this was important to go in the historical record of Harold Wilson."