Disturbing photographs have surfaced online and in tabloid newspapers of British celebrity chef Nigella Lawson as she has lunch with her husband Charles Saatchi when he appears to "choke" her four times and pinch her nose in another photo, leaving Lawson visibly shaken and upset.
Saatchi, a millionaire art and advertising magnate, appears to clench her throat with both hands during a heated discussion as the pair dine at a swanky seafood restaurant in London on June 9, according to the Daily Mirror. The couple have been married for almost 10 years.
Lawson, 53, appears distressed and is also seen wiping away tears later as she leaves the restaurant with Saatchi, 70.
"It was utterly shocking to watch," a witness was quoted as saying. "I have no doubt she was scared. It was horrific, really. She was very tearful and was constantly dabbing her eyes."
"No man should do that to a woman. She raised her voice and got angry but at the same time was trying to calm him down, almost like you would try to calm down a child."
Unfortunately, this was not the first time he has placed his hands on Lawson in public. Ironically, he put his hands to cover her mouth at the same restaurant back in December 2012.
A British newspaper, the Sunday People, reports police have not received a formal complaint or request for investigation into the incident from Lawson.
According to The Telegraph, Lawson and her children have since moved out. The television chef has two teenage children from her previous marriage.
Saatchi issued a statement to the London Standard on Sunday shortly after the photographs were published.
"About a week ago, we were sitting outside a restaurant having an intense debate about the children, and I held Nigella's neck repeatedly while attempting to emphasize my point," he said. "There was no grip, it was a playful tiff. The pictures are horrific but give a far more drastic and violent impression of what took place. Nigella's tears were because we both hate arguing, not because she had been hurt.
