Woman says divorcing controlling husband cost her £105k

Annabelle Boucher says coercive control needs to be considered A woman who endured years of abusive controlling behaviour -husband says it has cost her more than £105,000 to divorce him. Annabelle Boucher, 48, from Somerset, wants the law changed after she paid £75,000 to David Rogers, 61, despite him admitting to coercive and controlling behaviour, and legal costs. "I thought being stuck in this relationship I couldn't get out of would be highlighted within the divorce procedure," Boucher said. "But the divorce law doesn't take into account the fact that he was a criminal." The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it had begun a consultation to reform the law so "family courts meet the needs of domestic abuse victims". Boucher, a mother from Chiselborough, said Rogers had come into her life in "a whirlwind" in 2017 and the pair got married two years later. The divorce was finalised in September 2025 while criminal proceedings were ongoing. In April 2026, Rogers pleaded guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour at Taunton Crown Court and was given a 20-month suspended prison sentence. Boucher said she knew there was going to be a financial split with the divorce but added she had always kept her family home and Rogers had kept his, and they paid bills separately. She ended up paying Rogers a lump sum of £75,000 and more than £30,000 in legal costs. "I cannot believe, in this day and age, in 2025, when my divorce was finalised, [criminal proceedings] do not have any implication at all," she added.