After their famous whirlwind romance and Las Vegas marriage, Chris Evans and Billie Piper will finally divorce today.
The multi-millionaire media mogul and singer-turned-actress will get their decree nisi at the High Court in London.
Many thought the divorce had been thrashed out last September but a string of delays mean it is only formally endorsed today.
An insider explained: "The divorce was meant to go through late last year but has taken much longer than was expected.
"Interestingly, he is divorcing her, although the grounds for this may simply be because they have been apart for more than two years."
Neither is expected to attend today’s brief hearing, which will bring to an end their six-year marriage. Their decree absolute, the final document, can be applied for after a further six weeks and one day.
Unlike the respondent in many recent acrimonious divorces, Piper, 24, who is independently wealthy, has made it known she will not be seeking a penny of Evans’ £30million personal fortune.
The pair remain good friends and speak regularly despite their split three years ago.
While Evans, 41, has returned to the airwaves with a hit show on Radio 2, Swindon-born Piper has followed up her successful, though brief, pop career with a string of acclaimed acting roles.
Prior to her considerable success as The Doctor’s assistant Rose Tyler in Doctor Who, she began her foray into the acting world with a lead role in the BBC’s 2003 adaptation of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
She later had a part in the filmed version of Philip Pullman’s Victorian novel The Ruby In The Smoke for BBC1 before going on to star as the heroine Fanny Price in ITV1’s production of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park.
She has also signed a six-figure publishing deal for her autobiography.
In a recent interview, she told how she had no regrets about marrying Evans despite their 17-year age gap and subsequent split but she conceded that not having invited her parents to the wedding in 2001 had been a mistake.
She explained: "I regret it and we didn’t speak for a while, although, at the time, I had to be selfish. I didn’t want them to question it because, in my head, it was perfect: the first time in years I felt happy."
Piper is now dating actor Laurence Fox, 28, while Evans is understood to be unattached.
While it was her first trip down the aisle, it was the DJ’s second failed marriage, after his divorce from first wife Carol McGiffin in 1998.
