Everything you need to know about Boris Johnson's fiancée Carrie Symonds, who just gave birth to a baby boy
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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson lives in 10 Downing Street with his fiancée, 31-year-old Carrie Symonds.
On April 29, Symonds gave birth to Johnson's son in a London hospital.
They are the first non-married couple to live in the British prime minister's official London residence.
Here's what we know about Symonds, a former PR-guru for the UK's Conservative Party and someone who escaped an attack by one of the UK's most notorious sex offenders.
Boris Johnson's relationship with former Conservative Party PR-guru Carrie Symonds made headlines on June 20, 2019, when police were called to a quarrel at their south London apartment.
Since then she has often been pictured with Johnson in public. In July 2019 she moved into 10 Downing Street after Johnson won the battle to become UK Prime Minister.
Johnson split from his ex-wife Marina Wheeler in 2018. The new pair then got engaged in late 2019 and on April 29, 2020, amid the coronavirus crisis, Symonds gave birth to a baby boy, Johnson's son, in London.
Here's what we know about Symonds, the first-ever "first girlfriend" of 10 Downing Street.
31-year-old Carrie Symonds is the girlfriend of Boris Johnson — Britain's prime minister — and an influential figure in the Conservative Party. Here's what we know about her.
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Symonds is the daughter of Matthew Symonds, founder of The Independent newspaper, and Josephine McAffee, one of the paper's lawyers.
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Between 1999 and 2006 Symonds attended Godolphin and Latymer school, a prestigious private secondary school in west London.
Godolphin and Latymer
She went on to read theatre studies and history of art at the University of Warwick, graduating with a first-class degree in 2009.
University of Warwick
Symonds was thrust into the media spotlight in July 2007 when she almost became a victim of serial black cab rapist John Worboys
Metropolitan Police
Symonds was 19 at the time when Worboys picked her up in his taxi from London's King's Road after she had been clubbing.
In an interview with The Telegraph Symonds told how Worboys convinced her he had won money at the casino gave her champagne.
"I felt indebted to him because he had given me a cheap lift home," she said. "But when I got the glass I secretly poured it on to the floor as I was worried it might be spiked."
Luckily Symonds was able to leave the cab and made it to her front door.
"I played the age card and told him I was very young, only 19, and needed to go home."
In 2009 Worboys was convicted off sexually assaulting 12 women.
Source: The Telegraph, BBC
After several jobs in public affairs, in December 2011 Symonds got a job working on Johnson's successful 2012 London Mayor re-election campaign.
Reuters
Source: LinkedIn
After that Symonds worked in communications for the Conservative Party, first as head of broadcast and then as a political press advisor.
Reuters
The job followed roles in the offices of cabinet ministers Sajid Javid and John Whittingdale.
In June 2017, she became the party's director of communications, aged just 29.
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty
In 2018, Symonds was named the 2nd most influential person in UK political communications by PR Week.
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Source: PR Week
Symonds left the Conservative Party in 2018 to head-up Bloomberg's eco-initiative, Vibrant Oceans.
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Vibrant Oceans partners with coastal communities, nonprofit organizations, local and national governments, policy makers, and academic groups to advance evidence-based conservation practices and implement data-driven fisheries management policies around the world.
Source: Bloomberg
Throughout her time in the Conservative inner circle, Symonds was rumoured to be Johnson's girlfriend, though it was never officially confirmed.
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In September 2018, Johnson confirmed he and his wife, Marina Wheeler, had split "several months ago."
YouTube/Daily Mail
Johnson and Symonds' romance was confirmed on June 20, 2019, when police were called to a quarrel at Symonds' apartment in Camberwell, south London.
Daily Express Video
When police turned up Johnson was present, and a neighbor told the Guardian they had heard a woman screaming followed by "slamming and banging."
The neighbor said Symonds could be heard telling Johnson to "get off me" and "get out of my flat."
Source: Guardian
Several days after, the couple shared this photo with The Daily Mail. It was widely derided for being staged.
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Johnson refused to deny that the photo was staged.
Symonds moved into Number 10 after Johnson became prime minister in July 2019.
Ministry of Defence via Wikimedia Commons
Source: The Daily Telegraph
In late 2019, Johnson and Symonds got engaged. If they marry while he is Prime Minister it will be the first time a marriage has happened in office for 250 years.
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Even if the pair wanted to marry, they cannot do so immediately, as Johnson's divorce with Marina Wheeler is not yet finalized.
Source: The Sun, The Daily Telegraph
They began appearing in public together more frequently.
Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images
On February 29, 2020, Symonds announced on Instagram that she was pregnant with Johnson's child. Rumours of pregnancy had circulated since late 2019.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
It was also the day she confirmed the pair were engaged and due to be wed.
On April 4, Symonds reported symptoms of the coronavirus. Johnson later also tested positive and spent three nights in intensive care.
—Carrie Symonds (@carriesymonds) April 4, 2020
On April 29, Symonds gave birth to a baby boy, Johnson's son, in a London hospital.
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Source: Business Insider
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