Nigella Lawson's husband is divorcing her because she failed to defend him on physically abusing her. Charles Saatchi has announced that he is leaving the celebrity cook because she made it look like he's the bad guy.

It can be recalled that the British power couple made headlines in June when pictures of Saatchi apparently choking a tearful and frightened Nigella while they dining out in London surfaced on a tabloid. According to Sunday People, Saatchi grabbed Nigella by the throat four times, and even using both of his wrists to push her face away one time during an argument.

Witnesses recalled how Nigella seemed to be terrified of her husband. She was wiping off her tears with a napkin while trying to calm him down.

Related:

Charles Saatchi Claims Choking Wife Nigella Lawson Was Just 'Playful Tiff,' Accepts Caution From Police

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/479845/20130618/nigella-lawson-charles-saatchi-domestic-violence-playful.htm

Her spokesman had later confirmed reports that she left their family home with her children, which further speculations that the couple were heading for divorce.

Saatchi claimed the whole incident was just a "playful tiff," and that Nigella was crying because she hated arguing with him. Even so, he accepted caution from the police for attacking Nigella, though she didn't file a formal complaint against him.

But on Sunday, the advertising tycoon has announced that he is leaving Nigella because she made him look like a bad guy in the public's eye.

"I am sorry to announce that Nigella Lawson and I are getting divorced," he told The Mail on Sunday in a statement.

"I feel that I have clearly been a disappointment to Nigella during the last year or so, and I am disappointed that she was advised to make no public comment to explain that I abhor violence of any kind against women, and have never abused her physically in any way."

According to Saatchi, Nigella was aware that he didn't mean to hurt her during their choking scandal, but she still remained silent, telling him that he should show the world he was sorry.

He was apparently ordered by her PR advisor Mark Hutchinson to apologise and admit that he was "ashamed" for the incident. He was outraged by the suggestion, asking Nigella, "Are you crazy, you know that's not the truth."

However, Nigella told him that they "have no choice." They had a furious row after that, telling her to "pack her bags and go."

Nigella's willingness to take her PR advisor's advice rather than defend her own husband in public has become ultimately ruined their marriage, he said. Saatchi said she refused to answer his "begging" calls and text messages ever since she left their home.

The Daily Mail reported that Nigella wasn't aware of Saatchi's divorce ultimatum by the time of the article's print, adding that she would be "devastated" by his claim when she found out about how he is blaming her for their marriage's downfall.

"This is heartbreaking for both of us as our love was very deep, but in the last year we have become estranged and drifted apart," he continued.

"I must stress again my actions were not violent. We are instinctively tactile people. Yes, my hands were around her neck, and they had been touching her arm. Difficult as it may be to believe, for those who have seen the pictures, there was no pressure applied to her. In fact it was merely a gesture - one to which a still photograph gives a wholly different and incorrect implication."

"Nigella has given a statement to the police to support this view. I am sorry that we had a row. I am sorry she was upset. I am even more sorry that this is the end of our marriage."

Saatchi also told the UK paper that they were having argument on that fateful day because Nigella believed her daughter, 19-year-old Cosima, should go to Oxford like her rather than take up a permanent role at The Economist, but Saatchi disagreed.

Nigella was first married to journalist John Diamond from 1992 until his death in 2001. They had two children together, Cosima and Bruno Paul (born 1996). She suffered public condemnation for a while when she moved in with Saatchi just nine months after Diamond's death.