Scotland's First Minister and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as she is surprised by her husband and current chief executive officer of the Scottish National Party Peter Murrell, after casting their vote in local elections, at a polling station, in Glasgow, on May 5, 2022. placeholder image
Scotland's First Minister and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as she is surprised by her husband and current chief executive officer of the Scottish National Party Peter Murrell, after casting their vote in local elections, at a polling station, in Glasgow, on May 5, 2022. | AFP via Getty Images

Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon in Pictures: The couple's marriage in 20 photographs - as former First Minister's ex-husband pleads guilty to embezzling more than £400,000

By David Hepburn

Writer-at-large

Published 25th May 2026, 15:42 BST

Nicola Sturgeon announced that the couple were to get divorced in January last year.

Today (Monday, May 25) has seen former SNP chief executive officer Peter Murrell plead guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from his party over a period of over 12 years.

Mr Murrell was married to former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at the Oran Mor venue, in Glasgow’s West End, on July 16, 2010.

Read more: Downfall: Peter Murrell's journey from powerful SNP boss to convicted embezzler

The couple initially met in 1988 at a SNP youth event and started a relationship in 2003 before Murrell proposed to her on Hogmanay in 2009.

Ms Sturgeon announced that the couple would be getting divorced in January last year, around nine months after Murrell was re-arrested (he was previously arrested in April 2023 before being released without charge) and formally charged with embezzlement of party funds in April 2024.

It brought to an end a relationship that dominated Scotland’s political landscape for more than a decade.

Here are 20 pictures that tell the story of their marriage.

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Deputy leader of the SNP Nicola Sturgeon with her boyfriend Peter Murrell at the Make Poverty History Rally in Edinburgh in January 2010. The couple had recently announced their engagement.

1. Engaged

Deputy leader of the SNP Nicola Sturgeon with her boyfriend Peter Murrell at the Make Poverty History Rally in Edinburgh in January 2010. The couple had recently announced their engagement. | TSPL

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The wedding of SNP Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to Peter Murrell. The couple posing outside Oran Mor in Glasgow's West End.

2. Now married

The wedding of SNP Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to Peter Murrell. The couple posing outside Oran Mor in Glasgow's West End. | TSPL

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Friends and family look on as Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell pose outside Glasgow's Oran Mor where they were married on July 16, 2010.

3. Wedding party

Friends and family look on as Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell pose outside Glasgow's Oran Mor where they were married on July 16, 2010. | TSPL

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Nicola Sturgeon with her bridesmaid sister Gillian Owens, Gillian's daughter Harriet Nicola Owens (4), and husband Peter Murrell at her wedding in 2010.

4. Family

Nicola Sturgeon with her bridesmaid sister Gillian Owens, Gillian's daughter Harriet Nicola Owens (4), and husband Peter Murrell at her wedding in 2010. | TSPL

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