Carrie Johnson first hit the headlines when she became the girlfriend of the now-outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, having previously worked behind the scenes as the Tory Party’s head of communications.
Since then, the 34-year-old has had something of a rollercoaster ride while standing by Mr Johnson’s side as he became PM, before resigning today after a slew of wrongdoings and opposition from within his own party.
Even at his lowest moment, Carrie seems to be dutifully supportive of her disgraced husband and was pictured with her baby Romy alongside Nadine Dorries looking on at Mr Johnson as he delivered his resignation speech today.
But while Carrie has won praise for talking about her miscarriage and has enjoyed iconic moments such as bonding with Jill Biden on the beach, the former PR has also had her taste of scandal, most notably being embroiled in Partygate.
Here we look back at some of Carrie’s pivotal moments, including the good, the bad and the ugly…
‘Blazing row’ in London flat
Back when Carrie was still dating Mr Johnson, his bid for leadership was in turmoil (spot a theme?) when news broke the couple had been involved in a ‘screaming’ argument at her Camberwell flat.
Police were called in the early hours of a Friday morning in June 2019 after concerned neighbours heard a woman screaming and ‘plates-smashing’.
Carrie was also said to have yelled at the former PM to ‘get off me, get out’, with a caller ringing the Met Police fearing ‘for the welfare of a female neighbour’.
Another neighbour, who did not want to be identified, told The Telegraph: ‘I heard the row, it was pretty loud. I was quite worried, to be honest, it was bad.
‘I heard a lot of smashing – it sounded like plates or glasses – and I could hear her shouting. It was definitely her; I didn’t hear him. There was a lot of shouting and swearing. It didn’t last that long, maybe five minutes.’
The couple was contacted for comment at the time about the altercation but did not respond, while Mr Johnson flat out refused to answer questions about it at the first leadership hustings in Birmingham.
Settling into Number 11 – just don’t mention John Lewis
Carrie and Mr Johnson made history when they moved into Downing Street in July 2019, being the first unmarried couple to do so.
But the décor of the Westminster pad was not to Carrie’s liking, and the University of Warwick grad wanted to get rid of the ‘John Lewis furniture nightmare’ they inherited from Theresa May.
Prime ministers are allocated a budget of up to £30,000 per year to renovate their Downing Street residency, but reports suggested the couple spent up to £200,000 on the lavish changes.
This included stumping up hundreds of pounds for ‘£840-a-roll’ wallpaper – which, despite the hefty price tag, kept falling down.
According to No 10 sources, Carrie and Mr Johnson had to dole out more cash when they were forced to call in specialist decorators to rehang parts of the ‘hand-crafted’ gold wallpaper.
But this would be the least of the couple’s home-related fears, when it was announced the Electoral Commission would investigate the cost of the refurb.
After the probe, The Conservative Party was fined £17,800 by the Electoral Commission after it found more than £50,000 had not been properly declared.
Secret marriages, decoy dresses and children
Last May, Carrie and Mr Johnson married in a secret ceremony in Westminster Cathedral in front of a small group of close friends and family.
But a bigger bash is said to be in the works with their wider family and friends in on the action, with reports saying they sent save-the-date cards to family and friends for the celebration on July 30.
Whether it still goes ahead is uncertain, as given today’s events the couple may not be in the mood to party…
To keep word of the nuptials under wraps, Carrie ordered her white wedding dress along with three other coloured dresses as she didn’t want anyone seeing it and guessing she was getting married.
She rented all the gowns from My Wardrobe HQ and, for the big day, wore a tulle wedding gown by Christos Costarellos, which she borrowed for a week at a cost of £45 per day.
As for children, Carrie welcomed baby son Wilfred Lawrie Nicolas Johnson on April 29, 2020, who was named after Mr Johnson’s grandfather, Carrie’s grandfather and the two doctors who saved the former PM’s life when he battled coronavirus.
While it was Carrie’s first child, it is unknown how many siblings Wilfred has on his father’s side, as Mr Johnson has repeatedly refused to confirm how many children he has.
On December 9, Carrie and Mr Johnson had their second child, a daughter called Romy, who was born at University College London Hospital.
After the birth, Carrie said on Instagram that Wilfred had been ‘stroking Romy’s hair, giving big kisses and playing with his matchbox cars right next to her crib, just in case she feels like joining in too.’
They were both christened at a private ceremony at the UK’s largest Catholic church, Westminster Cathedral, where her parents also got married last year.
Carrie gets blamed for Downing Street chaos in explosive claims
An explosive book written by Lord Ashcroft claimed that Carrie was interfering with her husband’s former job and that Mr Johnson was her ‘puppet.’
First Lady: Intrigue at the Court of Carrie and Boris Johnson goes on to claim that Carrie would use her husband’s mobile to ‘try to direct and control events’ and even tells how aides would try to stall her by booking her taxis to campaign meetings and secretly asking drivers to take convoluted routes.
Lord Ashcroft alleges that Mr Johnson was ‘completely mesmerised’ by Mrs Johnson and lets her influence his policies and appointments, much to the ire of his official advisers.
But a spokesman for the ex-PM’s wife hit back at the book’s ‘cruel allegations’ which were part of a ‘calculated attempt by bitter ex-officials to attack Mrs Johnson’.
When asked about claims Mr Johnson was unhappy in his relationship, the spokesman said: ‘Yet more deliberately hurtful smears which are far removed from reality. The opposite is in fact the truth. Mr and Mrs Johnson have a very emotionally supportive relationship.’
The illegal Abba ‘The Winner Takes It All’ do and Partygate
Partygate was a sensational scandal, rocking the nation, and was a leading factor in Mr Johnson’s ultimate downfall.
Carrie was also implicated in the chaos and was linked to at least two events held in Downing Street at a time when coronavirus rules stipulated that there should be no gatherings.
She reportedly held a so-called Abba flat party on November 13, 2020, apparently to celebrate the PM’s former chief aide Dominic Cummings quitting his post, where the Swedish group’s hit song The Winner Takes It All was played.
But Abba weren’t best pleased their music soundtracked the illegal party, with Benny Andersson telling PA: ‘You can’t call it an Abba party. It is a Johnson party where they happened to play some Abba music. It is not an Abba party.’
The mum-of-two was also said to have attended a 56th ‘birthday party’ for Mr Johnson in the Cabinet room in Downing Street on June 19, 2020.
Carrie was among the Tories fined for breaking the pandemic rules, with her spokesperson confirming: ‘In the interests of transparency, Mrs Johnson can confirm she has been notified that she will receive a Fixed Penalty Notice.’
When the reports emerged, Metro.co.uk contacted No 10 for comment, but a spokesperson did not deny that a gathering had taken place or that the PM attended when contacted by The Times previously.
Miscarriage and speaking out about fertility issues
Carrie won praise when she opened up about having a miscarriage on Instagram last year in a bid to raise awareness of fertility issues.
She shared details of the pregnancy and miscarriage on her social media account and encouraged others to openly talk about their fertility issues.
Her post, which was accompanied by a picture of a small pram, said: ‘At the beginning of the year, I had a miscarriage which left me heartbroken.
‘I feel incredibly blessed to be pregnant again but I’ve also felt like a bag of nerves.
‘Fertility issues can be really hard for many people, particularly when on platforms like Instagram it can look like everything is only ever going well.
‘I found it a real comfort to hear from people who had also experienced loss so I hope that in some very small way sharing this might help others too.’
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