A judge has signalled the end of former model Jodie Kidd’s eight-month marriage to husband David Blakeley.

Judge Yvonne Gibson granted the couple a decree of judicial separation at a hearing in the Central Family Court in London.

Neither Jodie – who had been married before – nor Mr Blakeley was at the hearing, which lasted less than five minutes.

Jodie Kidd
(Yui Mok/PA)

Paperwork showed that Mr Blakeley petitioned for divorce on the grounds of his wife’s “unreasonable behaviour”.

The couple, both in their 30s, married last August at Holy Trinity Church, Plaistow, West Sussex, about a year after meeting. Shortly after the wedding, Jodie told Hello! magazine that her new husband had given her the “confidence to go and conquer the world”.

She said he had restored her faith in marriage and added: “As soon as David and I met, I went through a huge 360 in my mind and thought ‘That’s it, we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together’.”

In January, she told a newspaper that she and Mr Blakeley had separated.

Jodie Kidd and David Blakeley
Jodie Kidd and David Blakeley had a short-lived marriage (Ian West/PA)

A lawyer who specialises in family cases said “judicial separation” was unusual. Andrew Newbury said judicial separation petitions were issued when marriages had not lasted a year.

“As Jodie Kidd and David Blakeley have not been married for a year, they are unable to start divorce proceedings,” said Mr Newbury, who works at law firm Slater and Gordon. “Couples have to wait until they have been married for a year before they can divorce.

“Mr Blakeley has taken the very unusual step of issuing a petition for judicial separation. Only a handful of such petitions are issued each year. They can be issued before the first anniversary of the marriage.”

He added: “At the end of the process, a couple remain married, but the court proceedings enable them to deal with financial issues and arrangements for children.

“I expect that once they reach their first wedding anniversary, one of them will petition for divorce.”