Michael Gove, a senior government minister, and his journalist wife Sarah Vine are divorcing after almost 20 years of marriage, according to a joint spokesman for the couple.

The conservative politician and his wife decided to split and are “in the process of finalising their divorce.”

The pair said that they were “close friends” and would continue to support their two children, but that they desired privacy and would not be speaking more.

“Michael and Sarah have agreed to separate and they are in the process of finalising their divorce.

“They will continue to support their two children and they remain close friends.

“The family politely ask for privacy at this time and will not be providing any further comment.”

They had two children, Beatrice, 18, and William, 16, after marrying in 2001.

Vine, who is godmother to one of David and Samantha Cameron’s children, wrote about how Westminster life can create a gap between spouses in her Daily Mail column last week, in an article about former health minister Matt Hancock’s departure.

Mr Hancock was forced to resign when photos of him kissing his assistant Gina Coladangelo in his Whitehall office surfaced.

She complimented the Camerons’ dedication to one another, stating that “every time he seemed in danger of drifting away on a cloud of self-importance (usually after a few glasses of wine), she would bring him back down to earth”.

“Westminster is a place of myriad distractions for the politician seeking refuge from his or her home life,” Vine continued, adding that power changes people, commenting on how wives of senior politicians are “still more or less the same person they were when they got married,” but their husbands are not always.

“Climbing that far up Westminster’s greasy pole changes a person. And when someone changes, they require something new from a partner.”

“And when you feel disconnected like that, and because power is such an aphrodisiac, it doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to see how you can go from being happily married to the kind of person who gets caught so unfortunately on CCTV.

“It is very hard to do these high-level, high-pressure, high-stakes jobs unless you have someone prepared to take up the reins in every other department of your life,” she wrote in a revealing piece.

“Hancock’s behaviour may be shocking, but given the context it is entirely predictable.”

“The problem with the wife who has known you since way before you were king of the world is that she sees through your facade.

“She knows your fears and your insecurities. She knows that, deep down inside, you are not the Master of the Universe you purport to be. And some people don’t like to be reminded of that.”

A friend of the couple said: “This is a difficult and sad decision for Michael and Sarah after 20 years of marriage.

“It is an entirely amicable separation and there is no one else involved.

“They have drifted apart over the past couple of years but they remain friends.

“Their absolute priority is the children.”

Neighbors saw the couple leave their Kensington home at different times on Friday, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Gove has held a number of Cabinet positions and memorably stabbed Boris Johnson in the back by declaring his bid for Tory leadership shortly after the Brexit vote.