Published 19:44 IST, March 1st 2020
Everything you need to know about UK PM Boris Johnson's fiancee Carrie Symonds
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds recently disclosed that they were engaged last year and are now expecting a baby in summer.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and fiancee Carrie Symonds recently disclosed that they got engaged last year and are now expecting a baby in summer. However, even though they are the first unmarried couple to have occupied Downing Street, not much is made public about Symonds. The youngest partner of a Prime Minister in 174 years, Symonds, has been spotted with Johnson on several occasions last year including Queen Elizabeth II's speech but has relatively maintained a low-profile. According to international reports, the British PM and Carrie Symonds have been romantically involved since 2018.
Who is Carrie Symonds?
The daughter of British media outlet's co-founder, Matthew Symonds and lawyer Josephine Mcaffee was born on March 17, 1988, and was raised in London. Even her paternal grandfather was a newspaper editor and a member of Johnson's Conservatives' main opposition, the Labour Party. According to international reports, Carrie Symonds has studied theatre and art history at the University of Warwick and later began her career in the Conservative Party as a press officer.
It was while working at Conservative Campaign Headquarters when Symonds contributed to Johnson's mayoral selection in 2010 and then reelection in 2012. Her career also showcased her work for former culture secretary John Wittingdale, in addition to becoming a media special advisor for Sajid Javid when he was in the Department for Communities and Local Government. Moreover, she also became the youngest-ever head of communications of the Conservative Party in 2018 at the age of 29.
After leaving that position in the same year, Symonds took up a public relations role at United States environmental campaign group, Oceana. According to Oceana's official website, Symonds is “passionate about protecting oceans and marine life, particularly by reducing plastic pollution”. On her Twitter account, the 31-year-old describes herself as a “conservationist” and is now seen frequently sharing information about plastic pollution and the environment.
How did Johnson, Symonds meet?
According to media reports, it still remains unclear how the British PM met Symonds but their relationship was confirmed shortly after Johnson announced that he would be divorcing his second wife of 25 years, Marina Wheeler in September 2018. Wheeler and Johnson have had four children and British PM's fifth child was born in 2009 following an extra-marital affair. Therefore, Johnson child with Symonds will be the sixth one that he has apparently publically acknowledged. Symonds made the announcement of her child with the British PM on her private Instagram account and confessed to being “incredibly blessed”.
Symonds wrote, “Many of you already know but for my friends that still don't, we got engaged at the end of last year... and we've got a baby hatching early summer. Feel incredibly blessed."
Updated 19:44 IST, March 1st 2020