Her boyfriend, Boris Johnson, is now our Prime Minister, but just who is the woman about to become the first ‘First Girlfriend’ of Downing Street? Let’s find out.
She’s a high-achiever… and a glass-ceiling breaker
The 31-year-old, South-London-born Carrie, studied theatre studies and history of art at Warwick University and left with a first-class degree. She joined Conservative HQ in 2009 as a press officer and swiftly rose up through the ranks – as special advisor to both Zac Goldsmith and Sajid Javid – to become one of the youngest-ever Conservative Party communications directors at 29. Claims that she was ousted because of her connection to Boris have been challenged by fellow Tory MPS, such as Nadine Dorries, who went on record as saying Carrie was very good at her job.
She’s a survivor… and a fighter
At 19, Carrie was one of the victims of black cab serial rapist John Worboys. She has been bravely candid about her experience – both publicly and during the trial – and campaigned hard, and successfully, for his parole to be denied back in 2018. She launched a media campaign and worked to support a judicial review to seek to change the rules on releasing dangerous prisoners. Her efforts encouraged more women to come forward and Worboys now faces another four counts of sexual assault. He remains in jail.
She had three Tory leadership candidates at her 30th
You wait years to get a Tory bigwig at your party, and then three come at once. In March last year, Sajid Javid, Michael Gove and, of course, Boris, all attended Carrie’s 30th, raising eyebrows among Tory HQ. But whatever the controversy around it, the incident gave us these two unforgettable anecdotes: Boris danced “energetically” to ABBA and Michael Gove performed a pro-Boris rap based on the musical Hamilton. Yeah, we can’t get that image out of our minds either…
She’s an environmentalist
Carrie previously worked with notorious green campaigner Zac Goldsmith and currently works for media giant Bloomberg, heading up their ecological initiative, Vibrant Oceans. She has frequently been seen enacting her beliefs – most recently at an anti-whaling protest outside the Japanese embassy – and her Twitter feed is littered (no pun intended) with diatribes against plastic pollution.
She’s a feminist
Say what you will about Boris’s views on women; it is arguable that Carrie should not be seen as an extension of her boyfriend’s views. She is an avowed feminist and is close friends with FGM activist and OBE-holding Nimco Ali; who is as feminist as they come. Many have said she is quietly steering her gaffe-prone other half away from his more regressive tendencies when it comes to women’s rights. Good luck Carrie…
She will be the first First Girlfriend of Downing Street
Boris is the first PM (since Hugh Grant in Love Actually, obvs) to enter No10 as an unmarried man. Well, technically he is still married to his estranged wife Marina Wheeler, but once his divorce is finalised, rumour has it he intends to make his girlfriend, 24 years his junior, his third wife. If he does, he will be the first PM to marry while in Downing Street for 250 years.
She calls Boris out
In the now famous leaked exchange from a domestic the couple had in their South London flat back in June; Carrie was heard lamenting Bojo’s carelessness. After he ruined a sofa by spilling red wine (rude); she allegedly retorted; “You just don’t care for anything because you’re spoilt. You have no care for money or anything.”
Let’s hope she launches the same attack on him next time he suggests a No Deal Brexit.
