By Jack Peat

‘This ruling represents the labour of all the women in the shadows’, her lawyer said

A Spanish businessman has been ordered to pay his ex-wife £180,000 for 25 years of unpaid domestic labour, based on the minimum wage throughout their marriage. Ivana Moral’s husband was ordered to pay her 204,624.86 euros – just over £182,000 – in a record divorce settlement which was made public today. The judge, sitting at a court in Velez-Malaga in southern Spain, calculated the figure based on the annual minimum wage throughout the couple’s marriage. According to i news reports, the mother-of-two, who wed her ex in 1995 before asking for a divorce in 2020, has said she is happy with the payout after years of hard work. “Clearly this was a case of abuse to be completely excluded financially (by my ex-husband) with nothing left after my marriage ended, so me and my daughters were left with nothing after all these years of putting all my time, energy and love in the family,” she told the i. “I was supporting my husband in his work and in the family as a mother and a father. I was never allowed access to his financial affairs; everything was in his name.” Since marrying, Ivana had dedicated herself “to essentially working in the home, which meant looking after the home and the family and all that involves,” the ruling said. In that time, the man built a successful gym business that allowed him to buy a Porsche Cayenne, a Range Rover 4×4, BMW motorbikes, and a 70-hectare olive oil farm, which was valued at €4 million. Ivana’s husband was also ordered to pay her a pension equivalent to £444 per month as well as £356 and £533 to his two daughters, who are now aged 20 and 14. In total the settlement came to 204,624.86 euros – just over £182,000 – a record in the country.