Following the latest hearing in the divorce of former Miss Malaysia Pauline Chai from her entrepreneur husband Khoo Kay Peng, The Washington Post reported on London’s position as the ‘divorce capital of the world’ and the large settlements which the court can order.

The article explained how England’s position on divorce, which sees marriage as a partnership and seeks to share the assets built up during the relationship. Speaking to the paper, Ayesha Vardag  explained “Of the two parties to a marriage, it doesn’t matter who was the breadwinner and who was the homemaker. They are equal partners in a marriage, and they are entitled equally to share in the fruits of that marriage.”

Turning to those with more of the financial clout in a relationship, she suggested that they “Hop on the Eurostar and get over to France, where the laws are very different”.

The paper went on to report on a number of high profile divorces, including reports that Monty Python’s Terry Jones had agreed to come out of retirement to fund maintenance for his former wife. The article also discussed the possibility of England changing its laws to reduced the generous life-long support which is awarded in some cases, as well as the rise in prenups following Vardags’ victory for Katrin Radmacher in 2010.