ROSSENDALE and Darwen MP Jake Berry’s marriage has ended.

The 37-year-old Conservative politician and his wife Charlotte separated in June 2015 and are now divorced.

Mr Berry and his former spouse, who married in 2009, have asked for privacy following the break-up.

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They revealed the news in a joint letter to members of the Rossendale and Darwen Conservative Association.

It reads: “We are writing to let you know, that after much painful heart searching, we have agreed to separate and divorce.

“As you will know first hand from spending time with us over the years, we have had a very loving, supportive and wonderful marriage.

“Over the last few years, however, we have both pursued our own challenging and time-consuming careers and over this period our marriage has become increasingly difficult.

“It is nobody’s fault, no-one has behaved badly, we have simply grown apart.

“We have both always tried to support each other and this has become harder to do as demands on each of our time have increased.

“We remain close friends and we will continue to cheer on and support each other in our lives ahead.

“While we hope that you will appreciate that this is a private and personal matter – we wanted you to know the facts from us and not from simply inaccurate rumours.

“We want you to know that Jake’s commitment to serve as your MP is firmer than ever and he will continue to work hard for everyone here in Rossendale and Darwen.

“This is a very sad and difficult time for us both but we have been helped by the fantastic support we have received from family and friends.

“We hope that people will continue to respect our understandable desire for privacy.”

Blackburn Labour MP and former leader of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council Kate Hollern, herself divorced more than 20 years ago, said: “These thing do happen and it is always very sad when they do.

“Politics puts huge pressure on marriages and partnerships.

“I wish Jake all the best in his personal life for the future.”

Qualified solicitor Mr Berry was elected to Parliament in the 2010 General Election defeating long-serving Labour MP Janet Anderson by 4,493 votes. He retained the seat in May 2015 beating Will Straw, son of former Blackburn MP and Labour cabinet minister Jack with an increased majority of 5,654.

The couple have no children.