One tawdry affair, and a family forever humiliated
There can be no greater moment of heartbreak than when a wife discovers that her husband is having an affair. It could be a bill on his bank statement for jewellery she never received, a stray hair on his jacket, the mobile phone switched off when he’s away on business.
however she finds out, it will probably be the most devastating emotional trauma of her life.
For all that, few wronged women have had to endure what the wife of Lloyds Bank boss Antonio hortaOsorio has suffered this week.
The appalling ordeal for Ana was not just discovering her devoted husband of 25 years was having an affair, but for it to be splashed across the front page of The Sun, with pictures inside of the loved-up couple together at a ‘business’ conference.
The headline? ‘Lloyds Bonk — married chief in tryst with lover.’ how humiliating.
horta-Osorio is a proud family patriarch — he and Ana have three children — who preached the highest personal and family ethics in professional life.
Yet he was prepared to risk everything he loved, everything he’d worked for, everything, surely, that really mattered in life, for a cheap fling.
Now, he is about to be paid back for his weakness — with interest.
even if his marriage survives, his life will change for ever. he has lost the trust of his wife, the admiration of his children (including his two daughters, who will be hit hardest by his betrayal) and the respect of his colleagues.
Ana may forgive him in time — I really hope she does.
But if she doesn’t, he could lose his home, the unconditional love of his children, half his fortune, their family holidays, their Christmases and — given he’s already spent time in the Priory for ‘stress-related insomnia’ — his very peace of mind.
And for what? A blonde he met at a think tank dinner, who had a better understanding of fiscal stimulation than his wife.
Academic expert Wendy Piatt was prepared to wreck a marriage for the prize of a powerful multi-millionaire, who took home £8.5 million in pay and perks last year.
Wasn’t there a shred of guilt when he phoned home from his £350-a-night five-star hotel, while waiting for his mistress to arrive, to tell his wife how tough his day had been?
how ironic that this is a man who paraded his family values and praised his wife not only for encouraging him to accept the Lloyds job, but supporting him when he had a breakdown.
As I say, I hope Ana can find it in her heart to forgive.
Marriage, children and a lifetime of shared experience can be worth fighting for.
The question is whether this rich, self-indulgent man has the guts to win back the wife whom he really doesn’t deserve.