ANGELA Rayner was the Deputy Prime Minister, Housing Secretary and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, until she sensationally quit in September 2025.
The former MP for Ashton-under-Lyne — a position she held for a decade after being elected in 2015 — was married to Mark Rayner until 2020, but who is the former trade union rep?
Angela and Mark officially divorced in 2023[/caption]
Who is Angela Rayner’s ex Mark?
Before she was a member of the Labour Party, Angela Rayner was a trade union rep with Unison.
Angela met Mark Rayner through her work with the union, where he worked as a union official.
Angela told The Guardian he brought stability to her hectic life.
To support her career, Mark stepped back from his job, and focused on childcare.
When did Angela Rayner and Mark get married?
Angela, whose maiden name was Bowen, married Mark Rayner in 2010.
Mark became stepfather to Angela’s first child, Ryan, whom she had aged 16.
They had two children together.
When did Angela Rayner and her husband Mark separate?
Angela Rayner separated from her husband in 2020, before officially divorcing in 2023.
They’d been married for ten years when they split.
They continued to share a house together along with their two children.
Do Angela Rayner and her ex Mark have any children?
Mark and Angela have two children together.
Their first, Charlie, was born prematurely at 23 weeks and is registered blind.
She told The Sunday Times magazine that her 1lb son “looked like a baby sparrow”.
The couple went on to have a second son named Jimmy.
It actually saved me from where I could have been because I had a little person to look after – I wanted to prove that I could be a good mum and somebody was finally going to love me as much as I deserved to be loved, and that’s what pregnancy was for me.”
Angela Rayner
Mark is also stepdad to Angela’s firstborn, Ryan, who she had at the age of 16.
Addressing her experience as a teenage mother in 2017, she said: “Even though getting pregnant at 16 and having no qualifications is not the best start for anybody, you’ve got to understand that where my life was.
Ryan made Angela a grandmother in 2017 at the age of 37, and she dubbed herself “Grangela”.
In February 2022, Rayner told the Sunday Mirror her sons needed panic buttons and a police escort after she received a threat from a stranger who warned: “I know where your kids are.”
Does Angela Rayner have a partner?
Since separating from Mark in 2020, Angela has embarked on an on-and-off relationship with fellow Labour MP Sam Tarry.
They first got together in the summer of 2022, before splitting in 2023.
But they soon got back together, with Angela declaring in the 2025 register of ministers’ interests that Sam is her partner.
As of September 8, 2025, reports indicate that they are still together.
Why did Angela Rayner quit as Deputy PM?
On Friday, September 5, 2025, Angela quit her positions as Deputy Prime Minister, Housing Secretary and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
This came after an investigation by independent ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found she had breached the ministerial ethics code.
He conducted the investigation in relation to Angela’s failure to pay the correct amount of stamp duty tax on a property purchase, which led to her resignation
She paid £30,000 instead of the full £70,000 on her pad in Hove, near Brighton, which has since had graffiti daubed outside calling her a “tax evader”.
In his report, Sir Laurie Magnus found she “acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service” but ultimately broke the ministerial code by underpaying tax on her seaside abode.
In her resignation letter, Angela said: “I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice given both my position as
Housing Secretary and my complex family arrangements.
“I take full responsibility for this error.
“I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that it was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount.”
She added: “For a teenage mum from a council estate in Stockport to serve as the highest level of government has been the honour of my life.
“The challenges of government are nothing compared to the
challenge of putting food on the table and getting a roof over our head when I brought up kids working as a home help.”