England: Man seeking annual food allowance of £26,000 in divorce told to cook

Mr Justice Francis in the High Court told Simon Entwistle, a City trader, to make his own meals after dismissing his application for a £2.5 million settlement from his wife.

In a ruling, the judge said: “He [Entwistle] said to me, ‘I can’t even cook an omelette.’ Well, my answer to that is, learn. It is not difficult.

“You do not have to be a master chef to learn how to eat reasonably well.”

He added: “Being married to a rich person for three years does not suddenly catapult you into a right to live like that after the relationship has ended.”

Mr Entwistle, 42, who is appealing the ruling, accused the judge of “gender prejudice” for denying him the food allowance. His lawyer said that a wife suing a wealthy husband would likely have succeeded in her claim.

Mr Entwistle separated from Jenny Helliwell, daughter of the wealthy Dubai-based businessman Neil Helliwell, in 2019. They spent £500,000 on their wedding and moved into a £4.5m villa in Dubai.

Ms Halliwell has an estimated fortune of between £60m and £70m. Her lawyers offered Mr Entwistle £500,000, which was raised to £800,000 to avoid court. But Mr Entwistle refused the offer. In court, the judge awarded him only £400,000, reduced to to £325,000 to cover his ex-wife’s costs.

Mr Entwistle had signed a prenuptial agreement. Though they are not binding in England and Wales, the courts may uphold them if the agreement was entered into absent any coercion and was fair and reasonable.

His lawyers argue that Ms Helliwell used “unconscionable pressure … and exploitation of a dominant position” to make him sign the prenup on the day of the wedding.

Mr Entwistle told the court: “Throughout this prenup process, [I understood] I was a Helliwell now, we are multimillionaires, we don’t elevate people to a lifestyle and then just when we are fed up of them … just because you don’t feel like you want to be in a relationship, just drop them and leave them with nothing.”

Edward Faulks KC, for Ms Heliwell, said: “He was found to be a dishonest and unreliable witness. Conversely the wife was found to be honest, reliable and doing her best at all times to tell the truth to the court.”