Hello and welcome to The Rundown, a podcast from Politics Home with me Alan Tullhurst.

This week, we've got something a little different as we take a look at what life is like,

not for politicians themselves, but for their spouses, asking what does a life in the Westminster

Spotlight do to relationships, what their role is, and the often unfair way

they are portrayed in the public eye. Someone knows more about this than most is a journalist Sarah

Vine, who for many years was married to Michael Gove, as he served in the cabinets of multiple

prime ministers, giving her a front row seat to the many machinations of the modern Tory party.

She's written a new book called How Not to be a Political Wife, charting a difficult upbringing to entering the so-called Notting Hillset as David Cameron became

conservative leader, through to her falling out

with his wife Samantha as the couples fell

on either side of the Brexit divide,

and a surprisingly amicable divorce.

Myself and her producer Nick went to visit Sarah

at her home in West London this week,

to chat to her kitchen table about unrealistic expectations, what she'd learned from her 20 years

as a Westminster wag, what advice she'd give to any soon to be political spouses about how to get

through it with marriage intact, and what her own political ambitions are, now her ex-husband is out

of the comments. So, Sarah, as I said, the book is called How to Not to Be a Political Wife.

So first question, then, how did you become a political wife in the

first place then? Well, by mistake, honestly. When I married Michael, he was very adamant that he

wasn't going to become a politician and then he became politician. Yeah. Which is fine because people

change their mind. And that's completely their prerogative. But when we got married, he was a journalist.

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