Ultimo lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone splits from husband after posing in underwear

A statement issued by their lawyers said the split after 19 years of marriage was “amicable”, nobody else was involved and they would continue to work together at MJM International, the company they co-founded.

Mrs Mone, 40, a former model who created the cleavage-enhancing Ultimo bra, was awarded an OBE last year for services to the lingerie industry.

The publicity-conscious Glasgow entrepreneur and mother-of-three said last month that she was “tired and exhausted”, adding: “I always thought money would make you happy but it is seriously not true.

"Chasing the money, the houses, the cars, does it really all matter? Money does make things easier but it certainly doesn't ensure your happiness."

She previously admitted her husband, who she met when she was 17, was furious when she posed in her own lingerie for an Ultimo advertising campaign in 2010 after dropping from a size 20 to a size 10.

Shortly after the photo shoot she said: "He’s bothered on so many levels. He doesn’t want other men looking at his wife like that. He thinks it’s harmful for the kids. And he thinks it's detrimental for the business.”
Earlier this year she admitted: “He was appalled I'd posed in my underwear. He didn't speak to me for days. It's something we can't talk about, even now."

Mrs Mone, who was brought up in the east end of Glasgow and left school at 15, was also forced last year to deny rumours over her friendships with the rugby player Gavin Henson and the actor Shane Richie.
A statement released through the couple’s lawyers yesterday said: "It is with regret that we intimate that Mr Michael J Mone & Mrs Michelle G Mone OBE have decided to separate. There are no other parties involved and the split is amicable.

"Michael and Michelle's focus will be the welfare of their children, which is their main priority. They will continue to work together in their business MJM International.”

Mrs Mone and her husband launched MJM International in East Kilbride in 1996, and its popularity soared after Julia Roberts wore one of the company's bras in the film in Erin Brockovich.
The businesswoman and CEO, now divides her time between Glasgow and her home in Mayfair, London.
She said recently that the company, which has a turnover of around pounds42 million, had recorded a 34 per cent year on year increase in sales in December.

She added that the firm had been boosted by the Argentinian model Luisana Lopilato, the 24-year-old Argentinian wife of Michael Buble, and by deals with Debenhams and Tesco.
Helena Christensen, the ex-Spice Girl Mel B and the actress Kelly Brook have all appeared in Ultimo campaigns.