Woman prevented from bringing further claims against her ex-husband

Mr Welch has said that both his career and reputation have been irreparably damaged by his ex-wife’s actions.

A High Court judge has now banned Mrs Welch from continuing to “persecute” her ex and racking up huge legal costs she has no hope of paying off –at present she owes around £75,000 in costs to her ex-husband.

The court heard that Mrs Welch had moved in with her husband in 2007; the couple had met through an online dating website.

But their relationship deteriorated and they split six years later, triggering a long-running legal row.

A District Judge had ordered the businessman to pay his wife £1,000-a-month in maintenance and to buy the couple’s Surrey house, with the proviso that she could live in it for the rest of her live.

But Mrs Welch felt the settlement was insufficient and brought repeated claims in an attempt to win a more substantial payout.

Mr Justice Holman concluded that she had effectively become a “professional litigant” – spending every day on the case since the separation.

He made the order, banning her from pursuing any further claims for a period of two years, during the summer, but it has only just been made public.

Debate has now arisen about whether the outcome will set a precedent for other cases of this kind.

At Royds, our experienced family law department are able to advise on all stages of the divorce process. For more information, please visit or contact Patrick Hart.