If you have been keeping up-to-date with the news, the name Carrie Symonds may sound familiar to you. But who is she?
The pair’s romance has long been rumoured, but was confirmed when she appeared in public with Boris Johnson, for the first time, to support his leadership bid in June 2019. Rumours about the couple first circulated as news last year, due to Boris’ separation from his wife, Marina Wheeler.
Boris Johnson’s new girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, was born in 1988 and is from East Sheen, South London. Her father, Matthew Symonds, is the founder of British online newspaper, The Independent and mother, Josephine McAffee, is a lawyer.
As for her education, Symonds attended the prestigious Godolphin and Latymer School in Hammersmith and graduated from the University of Warwick with a First Class Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Studies and History of Art. At University, she started to become interested in Conservative politics.
Symonds worked for current Home Secretary Sajid Javid when he held the local government brief, as well as for John Whittingdale during his time as Culture Secretary. Following a brief time as an adviser to Tory MP Zac Goldsmith, she was appointed to the strategic role of Conservative communications chief. During her eight years at CCHQ she worked alongside leading Tories including Michael Gove and Amber Rudd.
The lucrative role led to her being named as the UK’s second most powerful public relations professional by PR Week magazine. Symonds resigned in August 2018, before starting at Bloomberg as PR for their Vibrant Oceans programme. The Vibrant Oceans Initiative works with world-class partners to ensure ocean ecosystems survive and thrive despite the growing threat of climate change.
It will be interesting to see how she develops in her new role.
