Michael Gove has been pictured having a cheeky snog with a 32-year-old university lecturer at a fancy restaurant in London.
The former government minister, who served in various Cabinet positions under David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, got close while sharing a meal with glamorous Oxford University lecturer Dr Lola Salem.
The pair were dining at the upmarket restaurant J Sheekey, where oysters can cost £79 a dozen, with a small serving of caviar costing £80.
A-list fans of the venue include Keira Knightley, Poppy Delevingne, Sienna Miller, the Beckhams, Jude Law, Kate Moss and Bradley Cooper.
Per Mirror reports, Dr Salem is a lecturer in French and music at Oxford University, where she specialises in opera – a hobby of Gove’s, who has become editor of the Spectator mag since stepping away from frontline politics.
She is a trained singer and former art critic for the IO Gazette, a French newspaper.
The tryst comes two years after Gove split with his former wife Sarah Vine.
The newspaper columnist said their marriage had been put under “strain” by the dramas surrounding Brexit – including the very public row between the couple and David and Samantha Cameron.
“My whole life fell away. I didn’t speak to many close friends. And that was another huge strain on the marriage,” Ms Vine said.
“Marriage can take strain, but it cannot take that much.”
Related: Farmageddon: Ed Conway explains what’s really going on in farming