Boris Johnson has grown close to ex-Tory aide, 30, and bombarded her with playful texts since his marriage to Marina Wheeler hit the rocks
THIS is the blonde ex-Tory aide linked to Boris Johnson.
The Sun on Sunday can reveal she is PR executive Carrie Symonds, 30, former Conservative communications director.
Boris, 54, announced on Friday that he and wife Marina Wheeler, 54, are divorcing.
The former Foreign Secretary has grown close to Tory aide since his marriage hit the rocks, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.
Carrie, 30, has been with him at everything from private dinner dates to political functions.
The former Foreign Secretary has been texting her at all hours and once sent his car to pick her up at a wedding.
She regularly posts pictures on social media, including one where she appears to be dancing on a car bonnet outside Westminster.
His wife is understood to have found of string of text messages between the pair.
A source said: “Their close friendship has been an open secret for several months now.
"We couldn’t help noticing the signs. They were there for all to see.
“It’s fair to say they’ve grown incredibly close and there is a real bond of trust and friendship between them.”
Colleagues first noticed Boris had the eye for his party’s director of communications in February when they attended the Tories’ annual Black and White fundraising ball.
Six days later they had a Valentine’s Day dinner at the Rules restaurant in London’s Covent Garden.
Carrie tweeted enthusiastically about a speech her escort had made about Brexit earlier in the day.
Close friends have told of the extraordinary lengths the pair went to so they could meet during and after work.
They revealed Boris:
- SENT a car to pick up Carrie from a colleague’s wedding that was held near Chevening, his country retreat when Foreign Secretary;
- ESCAPED his gruelling round of official engagements to attend her 30th birthday party, and;
- BOMBARDED Carrie with playful text messages which she sometimes delighted in showing friends.
Their closeness even led to a series of bust-ups between Boris and Downing Street over where Carrie’s main loyalty lay.
Carrie, who recently left her job at the Tory Party after eight years, has not been seen since The Sun revealed Boris’s split from wife Marina on Friday.
She is due to start a new job with technology giant Bloomberg tomorrow, promoting clean oceans.
She tweeted cryptically: “Sea otters have the thickest fur of all animals.”
Boris wrote about otters in a newspaper column three weeks ago.
His spokesman said: “Boris never discusses anything to do with his private life.”
However, friends and associates have lifted the lid on how the pair grew increasingly close since it became clear several months ago that Boris’s marriage was over.
Eyebrows were raised at a colleague’s wedding when Carrie cheerfully waved her mobile phone around to show mischievous text messages from Boris, then still Foreign Secretary.
One guest said: “Carrie was having a good time and was quite thrilled with all the texts she was getting.
“She showed them to a colleague from Conservative HQ but they saw something they shouldn’t have.
“Then all of a sudden a car turned up and everyone said Carrie was off in Boris’s car, because Chevening is close by.
“There was speculation that it might even have been a ministerial car that picked her up because it was a nice motor. Either way, it’s clear it wasn’t just any old taxi.”
Three months ago Carrie also boasted to friends of spending the evening with Boris. A source said: “She turned up laden with luggage as she had been staying away in the countryside.
“She explained she had been in Oxfordshire camping with friends but had enjoyed dinner with Boris the previous evening. She didn’t seem to mind who she was telling.”
In March, Boris managed to interrupt his busy affairs of state to attend Carrie’s 30th birthday party — and they have been out more frequently lately. A Tory MP said: “About a month ago, I was at a private get-together for Leavers, where we were deciding what to do next.
“Boris arrived with Carrie. They seemed inseparable and spent most of the evening chatting to each other before leaving together. They looked very close.”
Boris was at the Oval in South London for England’s Test Match against India — but was booed by the crowd when his picture flashed up on the giant screens.
The Sun told last week how Boris and Marina, who have children Lara, 25, Milo Arthur, 23, Cassia Peaches, 21, and Theodore Apollo, 19, have been living apart for months. Rumours of a split began after Marina failed to attend a recent family party for Cassia’s birthday.
The Sun told how diners were stunned to see Boris take Carrie for a Valentine’s Day meal.
His daughter Lara, a fashion journalist, is understood to have described her father to friends as “a selfish b*****d”. She told one: “Mum’s finished with him. She’ll never take him back now.”
Boris has not commented apart from a joint statement with lawyer Marina, 54, confirming their split. Carrie has spent the past three years working alongside and advising some of the Tory Party’s biggest names, including ex-Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Environment Secretary Michael Gove.
She also worked for current Home Secretary Sajid Javid when he had the local government brief and with John Whittingdale when he was Culture Secretary.
After a brief spell as an adviser to Tory MP Zac Goldsmith she was appointed to the strategic role of Conservative communications chief.
It led to her being named as the UK’s second most powerful public relations professional by PR Week magazine.
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Carrie grew up in East Sheen, South West London. She went to £20,000-a-year Godolphin and Latymer School in West London.
Old girls include Nigella Lawson, Kate Beckinsale and Davina McCall.
It was claimed this week the Boris marriage split was deliberately leaked as he mounted a new leadership challenge.
But a friend said it was “b******s”, adding: “This is the last thing he wants out there.”
Wife's in control
WIFE Marina Wheeler called time on her troubled marriage with one of Bojo’s own phrases from the Brexit campaign — declaring: “I’m taking back control.”
Lawyer Marina, 54, said: “It’s time for me to have my life back now.
"I feel no hatred or anger towards Boris but I’ve decided to leave him. There’s no reason for our marriage to continue. I no longer have responsibility as a home-maker. I’m taking back control.”
She told a pal the “final straw” came when she learned as Foreign Secretary he was giving his personal protection officers the slip to sneak off on trysts.
Marina spent Saturday with daughter Cassia Peaches, celebrating her 21st birthday. Boris watched England play cricket.
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