Kirsten Farage, born Kirsten Mehr in Hamburg in April 1967, is the German-born former bond broker who married Nigel Farage in 1999, worked for years as his secretary and personal assistant, and has lived apart from him since well before 2017.
She turns 59 in 2026, has two daughters, and owns one dormant company, but there is no public profile of her.
- Born Kirsten Mehr in Hamburg, April 1967; former bond broker and bank interpreter
- Married Nigel Farage in 1999 after meeting him in Germany
- Two daughters: Victoria (2000) and Isabelle, known as Izzy (2005)
- Paid £27,000 a year from parliamentary allowances as his secretary
- Confirmed in February 2017 that they had lived “separate lives for some years”
Who is Kirsten Farage?
She is best known as Nigel Farage’s second wife, but that label covers very little of her life. The Sun has traced her story across both marriages, yet her working years get far less attention. Her early life is thinly documented: no reliable source gives her date of birth, her parents or her schooling.
She grew up in Germany and had a career before she had a famous husband. By the mid-1990s, she was working with a German bank, described in different accounts as an interpreter and as a government bond broker. Britain Blogs details that period well: administration, communication, and practical support. Those skills later ran her husband’s office.
Her German nationality drew comment, since he built a career on cutting immigration. She seemed unbothered: one World Cup summer she hung a German flag on the family fence, as a Guardian round-up of her rare press appearances noted.
How She Met Nigel Farage
They met in Frankfurt in 1996, by most accounts, while he was in Germany on business. His first marriage, to the Irish nurse Gráinne Hayes, ended in divorce in 1997. He and Kirsten married two years later.
His description of that meeting has been quoted ever since: “She was a stunning government bond broker whose brisk efficiency at first sight belied her ethereal appearance.”
Two Daughters, Two Passports
Victoria was born in 2000 and Isabelle in 2005. Both hold British and German passports and were raised bilingual. When Farage was criticised for saying he felt uncomfortable hearing foreign voices on a train, his wife called the row “ridiculous”.
Kirsten also has two stepsons from his first marriage: Samuel (1989) and Thomas (1991).
£27,000 Job That Caused a Row
For years she ran his diary and his inbox from home and paid £27,000 a year from his parliamentary allowances. Pressed on that by Nick Robinson, Farage said, “Nobody else could do that job.”
Nobody else, he said, would work at midnight or two in the morning. He said she had done the job unpaid for seven years. The European Parliament later stopped members from employing close family in such roles.
Her name appears in a wider funds dispute too. Between 2014 and 2016, she worked as an assistant to the UKIP MEP Raymond Finch while still handling office duties for Farage. Controllers questioned whether that met the rules, and Finch was asked to repay more than £20,000 linked to her employment. It brought no criminal conviction against her, and UKIP disputed the findings.
Also read: How Rich Is Nigel Farage in 2026? His Income, Businesses and Wealth Explained
Her One Interview
In May 2014, at a UKIP victory party, she gave what is thought to be her only newspaper interview to The Telegraph.
“I do a very hard job,” she said, “and Nigel’s a very difficult person to work for.” On the late nights: “I sit at my computer in my nightie and am very dutiful.” She said he was virtually computer illiterate.
His health worried her: “He doesn’t get a lot of sleep, he doesn’t get a lot of rest, he lives on adrenaline a lot, he doesn’t eat regular meals, now I am beginning to sound like his mother, and he smokes, and he drinks too much.”
On racism, she was blunt: “If he was a racist, I wouldn’t be with him.” She said, “The kids have suffered a lot.” Cornwall holidays had become impossible, so she took them caravanning in France or Italy; fees for four private schools kept money tight. Boris Johnson once called her “the brains” behind UKIP.
“Separate Lives”: The 2017 Statement
In February 2017 she was photographed leaving the family home in Kent without her wedding ring. The coverage followed reports that Laure Ferrari, the French director of the Institute for Direct Democracy in Europe, was staying at Farage’s Chelsea house, which he told the Mail on Sunday was simply him helping her out.
Kirsten then issued a short statement to the Press Association. “My husband and I have lived separate lives for some years, and he moved out of the family home a while ago,” she said. “This is a situation that suits everyone and is not news to any of the people involved.”
She also asked reporters to back off, words carried by the BBC: “Having press camped out in front of my house is extremely distressing, especially for my children. Please let us get on with our lives.”
Her husband spoke on LBC the next day. “All of us in our lives go through ups and downs, and I regret the down that I’m in at the moment,” he said.
Also read: UK Threatens Total Visa Ban on Eritreans Over Deportation Dispute
Where is Kirsten Farage Now?
Companies House filings show she became a director of Rockfield Mount Management Company Limited on 29 June 2017. The firm works in residents’ property management; its latest accounts, filed in May 2026, call it dormant. England is listed as her residence, and it is her only appointment.
No formal divorce has been confirmed. Farage has said separation is his legal status, and The Standard has reported that the pair are understood to be technically married after a decade apart. Ferrari has been publicly described as his partner since 2023.
No verified figure exists for her wealth, and net-worth numbers on weak sites rest on no filing. No confirmed social account has surfaced.
Press attention has not faded. In 2026, Farage accused The Times of publishing a photograph showing where one of his daughters lives, and Sky News said it had made “reasonable efforts” to put questions to him. He resigned his Clacton seat that July and won the by-election on 13 August 2026.
In Short
A Hamburg upbringing, a bond desk, a Kent marriage and years of unseen admin for Britain’s noisiest politician. When it ended in all but paperwork, Kirsten Farage wrote three sentences and went back to her life.
FAQs
Q. Who is Kirsten Farage?
A. She is Nigel Farage’s German-born second wife, born Kirsten Mehr in Hamburg in April 1967. A former bond broker, she became his secretary and personal assistant.
Q. Is Nigel Farage still married to Kirsten?
A. They have been separated since before 2017, and no divorce has been confirmed. Farage calls separation his legal status, so ‘separated’ is the safest word.
Q. How old is Kirsten Farage?
A. She is 59 in 2026. Official records give April 1967 as her birth month and year, but no exact date has been published.
Q. How many children does Kirsten Farage have?
A. She has two daughters with Nigel Farage: Victoria, born in 2000, and Isabelle in 2005. Both hold British and German passports.
Q. What did Kirsten Farage do for a living?
A. She worked in German banking as a bond broker and interpreter, then ran her husband’s office as his secretary and parliamentary assistant on £27,000 a year.
Q. Why did Kirsten Farage stop being paid by Nigel Farage?
A. The European Parliament banned members from employing close family as assistants. She said the job would carry on, but that she would not be paid.
Sources & References:
- The Sun – Her working years receive far less attention.
- Britain Blogs – Skills like administration, communication, and practical support later ran her husband’s office.
- BBC – She said having press camped out in front of my house is extremely distressing, especially for my children.
- The Standard – The pair are understood to be technically married after a decade apart.
