Former senator Natasha Stott Despoja was left “shocked” after her 20-year marriage to political lobbyist Ian Smith ended.
Stott Despoja, 54, and Ian Smith, a former political adviser turned globally respected corporate consultant, went their separate ways over the summer, according to friends and colleagues.
For more than two decades the high-profile couple, who married in a romantic Byron Bay beach ceremony in 2003, were considered one of South Australia’s power couples.
Ms Stott Despoja, who was the youngest woman to serve in federal parliament when she was appointed to the Australian Senate at 26, was “shocked” by the breakdown of her marriage, the Daily Telegraph.
Happier times: Natasha Stott Despoja, 54, and Ian Smith, a former political adviser turned globally respected corporate consultant, recently went their separate ways.
The couple married in a romantic beach ceremony in Byron Bay in 2003 (pictured).
Smith reportedly told friends that the breakup was mutual.
The couple shares two teenage children.
Smith made headlines last year when a worm dance she performed at a Rita Ora performance at the Prince’s Trust gala dinner in New York went viral.
The pop star later urged her 16 million Instagram followers. to “find this man.”
“Find him, find this man,” Ora said.
“I need it at every show, I need you in my life.”
Smith, who claimed to have been perfecting this energetic dance since his teens, joked that he planned to “quit the political consulting lobby.”
I left Adelaide for a great time. The worm is going global, Smith joked to ANC News.
“When Rita Ora put this on her Instagram, I realized that finally… after like 40-odd years of doing this dance, someone finally appreciated it.”
Smith made headlines last year when a worm dance she performed at a Rita Ora performance in New York went viral, with the pop star urging her followers to “find this man” (pictured).
The lobbyist later met Ora in person after Stott Despoja introduced him as “the worm guy” (pictured, left to right: Julie Bishop, Rita Ora and Ian Smith).
Smith later revealed that he briefly met the pop star and took a photo with the singer after ‘
The lobbyist later met Ora in person after his wife introduced him as “the worm guy.”
“Natasha saw her and said, ‘My husband is the worm guy,'” Mr. Smith recalled.
Not long before the couple married in 2003, Stott Despoja resigned as leader of the Australian Democrats due to bitter infighting in the party.
He had been leader of the party for just over a year.
The couple welcomed their son in 2004 and Stott Despoja remained in the Senate until 2008.
She then founded Our Watch, a national foundation to prevent violence against women and children.
This work on gender equality earned her the title of Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019 and an appointment to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
Pictured: Natasha Stott Despoja is congratulated by her then-fiancé Ian Smith after giving a speech at the Democratic conference in Canberra in 2002. The couple married the following year.
In March, Ms Stott Despoja was appointed South Australia’s Royal Commissioner for Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.
Smith, who was originally born in the United Kingdom, began his career as a journalist before advising state political leaders.
He later founded the corporate advisory firm Bespoke Approach.
He is considered one of Australia’s most influential political lobbyists.
Stott Despoja previously dated television journalist Hugh Riminton in 2001 before entering into a relationship with Smith.
The couple announced their engagement in April 2002 after a whirlwind romance and married the following year.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted both Stott Despoja and Smith for comment.
Natasha Stott Despoja and Ian Smith were together for 22 years
