Yahoo Finance Boris Johnson Talks Working with Biden, Fatherhood as Prime Minister — and at Last Confirms He Has 6 Kids
In an interview on Today this week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed a long-held suspicion about the number of children he has — telling Savannah Guthrie that he actually has six kids and not five, as has been previously acknowledged.
Johnson, 57, spoke with Guthrie about a range of topics, including the U.K.'s relationship with America, finding common ground with Joe Biden and his bustling home life.
But it was a passing comment about fatherhood that drew notice.
Asked whether he had six children, Johnson confirmed that he in fact did, later adding with a laugh: "I change a lot of nappies."
The conservative politician — who has contended with his share of scrutiny amid the coronavirus pandemic and the country's exit from the European Union — shares four children with his ex-wife Marina Wheeler and a son with his wife Carrie Johnson.
Johnson also has another daughter, who has long been the source of speculation in British political circles and in the the British press. In 2010, he was said to have allegedly fathered the child with a woman during an extramarital affair.
That assertion (amid other claims of affairs) led to a legal battle waged for years in the U.K., with news organizations at one point being banned from reporting on the child's existence.
In 2013, according to The Guardian, a court overturned that decision, ruling that the public had a right to know that Johnson fathered the child during an alleged "brief adulterous affair." He has long avoided commenting on his kids, however.
But speaking to Guthrie in the interview that aired Tuesday, Johnson said "it's fantastic" to have his growing family in the prime minister's official residence at 10 Downing St.
"It's a lot of work," Johnson said on Today of his political and home duties. "It's a lot of work, I'll tell you that much. But I love it."
He and wife Carrie Symonds Johnson, a former Conservative Party spokeswoman, welcomed their son, Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson, in April 2020 at a London hospital.
Carrie, 32, is now expecting another child, the couple announced in July — months after she suffered a miscarriage. (Johnson has four children from a previous marriage.)
The couple wed in a surprise, last-minute May ceremony at Westminster Cathedral in London, after they had previously sent out invitations for a July 2022 wedding.
Carrie is a former communications director with the U.K.'s Conservative Party, which Johnson has been the leader of since mid-2019 as he shepherded the country toward a controversial "Brexit."
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Stefan Rousseau - WPA Pool /Getty Images From left: U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds Johnson
Elsewhere in his Today interview, the prime minister spoke about his relationship with U.S. President Biden, whom he said is a "breath of fresh air."
Johnson also touched on the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots by a mob of Trump supporters, telling Guthrie: "I'm a massive fan of American democracy. I think America stands for an ideal ... I just felt that some of the scenes at the Capitol didn't wholly correspond with that ideal."
He stopped short, however, of placing the blame with Trump (in what would have been an unusually blunt move for a foreign leader).
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"I have no knowledge of what happened but let me put it this way: My admiration for American democracy is undimmed," Johnson said.
The prime minister also spoke to Guthrie about Trump's successor, saying working with Biden has been refreshing and that despite their political differences they share some priorities.
Justin Tallis - WPA Pool/Getty; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Boris Johnson (left) and Joe Biden
"What I will say about Joe Biden, dealing with the new American president, is it is a breath of fresh air in the sense that there are some things in which we can really, really work together," Johnson said.
He continued: "Climate change — he's great on that. He wants to cut CO2, he wants to get to net zero by 2050. And he shares with me a basic view that you can do this without penalizing the economy. "
Biden, 78, has committed to cutting U.S. emissions in half by 2030, as part of the Paris Climate Accord. Johnson, meanwhile, has committed to cutting Britain's emissions by 78 percent over the next 14 years.
