Squeezed into a four-bedroom council house in Guernsey lives a woman branded the UK’s most prolific single mother.
Joanne Watson, 40, has 14 children, ranging in age from three to 22 and survives largely on state benefits after the breakdown of her marriage in 2010.
Once celebrated in endless articles in the press for her clan of immaculately turned-out blonde children, who were then supported entirely by the salary of her hardworking husband John, Joanne Watson and her family have now become figures of ridicule – and even hate.
The financial pressure of caring for his 14 children meant John made a decision he will forever regret. As his health improved and with bills mounting, John claimed benefits while simultaneously taking some earnings.
Joanne Watson, 40, has 14 children, ranging in age from three to 22 and survives largely on state benefits after the breakdown of her marriage in 2010.
Once celebrated in endless articles in the press for her clan of immaculately turned-out blonde children, who were then supported entirely by the salary of her hardworking husband John, Joanne Watson and her family have now become figures of ridicule – and even hate.
The financial pressure of caring for his 14 children meant John made a decision he will forever regret. As his health improved and with bills mounting, John claimed benefits while simultaneously taking some earnings.
He was caught, and the man who for two decades had been seen as the model father was sent to prison. The couple, who Joanne says had been arguing for years, separated and divorced.
Joanne pays only £27 a week rent for the house, a heavily subsidised fraction of the normal cost, receives a total of £160 a week in family allowance for the 11 children still living at home, and another £405 a week in supplementary benefit. But money is still tight, and a budget must be adhered to.
And since her marriage broke down, with a little help from her children, Jo has to do it all herself. But despite the workload, Joanne believes firmly that ending her crumbling marriage was the right thing to do.
Last year, Joanne was left devastated when her pregnancy with what would be her fifteenth child ended in miscarriage. She had fallen pregnant just three weeks after embarking upon an affair with leisure centre worker Craig Le Sauvage, 35, who was an old neighbour
He was caught, and the man who for two decades had been seen as the model father was sent to prison. The couple, who Joanne says had been arguing for years, separated and divorced.
Joanne pays only £27 a week rent for the house, a heavily subsidised fraction of the normal cost, receives a total of £160 a week in family allowance for the 11 children still living at home, and another £405 a week in supplementary benefit. But money is still tight, and a budget must be adhered to.
And since her marriage broke down, with a little help from her children, Jo has to do it all herself. But despite the workload, Joanne believes firmly that ending her crumbling marriage was the right thing to do.
Last year, Joanne was left devastated when her pregnancy with what would be her fifteenth child ended in miscarriage. She had fallen pregnant just three weeks after embarking upon an affair with leisure centre worker Craig Le Sauvage, 35, who was an old neighbour
No comments:
Post a Comment