Poppy Delevingne says divorce ‘stigma’ stopped her from ending marriage sooner

Poppy Delevingne has revealed the “stigma” associated with divorce was the reason she didn’t end her marriage to James Cook sooner.

The model, 38, who is the sister of the Paper Towns actor Cara Delevingne, 32, married the businessman, 45, at St Paul’s Church in Kensington in 2014 in an elaborate ceremony where she had 17 bridesmaids and Geri Halliwell and Trinny Woodall were among guests.

Delevingne and Cook separated after eight years of marriage. She has since been linked to the billionaire businessman Archie Keswick, who was previously reported to be dating Sienna Miller in 2021.

Speaking on the Origins With Cush Jumbo podcast, Delevingne said she and Cook “will always have a good relationship” despite going their separate way.

“There’s a lot of love and respect there. It just no longer worked for us,” she said.

“I met him when I was 20 years old and 15 years is a long time and I think 15 years to be with someone is a success and sometimes these things just have to come to an end but even so within that, when it did end, that feeling, it was this sort of like bubbling up of freedom.

“I felt sort of 20 all over again.”

Delevingne added she now feels “fully independent” because “every decision” is hers following her separation from Cook.

When asked about the stigma associated with divorce, the model said: “I think that’s why it should have probably ended earlier than it did, and I think one of the reasons why it didn’t is because of that stigma, which is extraordinary.”

She continued: "I’m quite sad, actually, that we should feel that there’s such a thing about it, that, god she’s divorced, damaged goods, no one’s going to want you.

“Especially women in their late thirties who haven’t had a baby ... It’s not easy to make that kind of a decision. It’s not by any stretch.

"And I think within that, you have to have courage. You’ve got to love yourself, put yourself first, and you’ve got to be happy. We have one shot at life. Oh my god, I chose happiness. I chose me.”

Delevingne is often labelled a socialite as she comes from one of London’s best connected families. Her grandfather, Sir Jocelyn Stevens was a drinking friend of Princess Margaret’s.

Meanwhile, her great Aunt, Doris Delevingne, had a close relationship with Winston Churchill. In May, the Delevingne’s Grade II-listed Belgravia family home was put on the market for a historic £23.5 million.

Elsewhere in the podcast, Delevingne – who previously dated Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark – complained about being called a socialite because the label “completely undermines anything of any worth that I’ve ever done”.

“They want to take me down a peg or two and it’s so frustrating because what even is that? What is a socialite?” she said.

In July, Delevingne went public with her new partner Archie Keswick, who is also part of a high society dynasty.

The Eton-educated businessman, who was described as a “demon on the tennis court” by Tatler, has links to ventures in the Far East, including the Mandarin Oriental hotel group.