Former BBC star James Caan splits from wife of 32 years
Former Dragon’s Den star James Caan, 55, has split from his wife after 32 years of marriage.
The successful entrepreneur has amassed a fortune of over £95 million over the years building up an impressive business empire.
He has now separated with Aisha, the mother of his two daughters.
According to the Mirror, James has moved out of the family mansion following a row. The couple’s children, Jemma-Lia and Hanah, are both said to be devastated.
The businessman met Aisha after she had an interview with him in the early 1980s.
The self-proclaimed ‘godfather’ of business started out selling leather jackets on the trendy streets of Brick Lane in London.
His entrepreneurial nous landed him a job in the fashion industry recruitment agency, where he ‘loved interviewing the candidates – most of whom were female’.
In his book, ‘The Real Deal: My Story from Brick Lane to Dragon’s Den’ he wrote: “I had many girlfriends and went to all the best clubs. For a 17-year-old, life was pretty near perfect.”
He said that one ‘attractive, feisty and well-educated’ interviewee, who was indeed Aisha, turned down Caan’s job offer but did agree to become his wife.
They married on New Year’s Day in 1983 when he was only 21 years-old in Regent’s Park mosque.
His autobiography continues: “The trouble was, when I offered her a job, she turned it down and said she had decided she was going to pursue her dream of opening a boutique instead.
“Desperate not to lose touch with her, I offered to invest in her business, even though I had no savings.
“Although, like me, Aisha had been brought up in a pretty liberal environment, dating a Muslim girl was still a no-no, so I carried on seeing her under the guise of discussing her business plans.
“Eventually we found some premises for her boutique, and I discovered I’d need to find £30,000 fast if I was to live up to my promise of supporting her dream.”
A pricey divorce could see Caan pay his wife £25million from his personal wealth after she helped him build his business empire.
Speaking of how he relied on his wife in the past, James admitted that she organised his free time and social life and that he ‘like[d] to leave her to it’.
Born Nazim Khan in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1960, the former Dragons’ Den judge and a former government social mobility tsar changed his name after watching Hollywood star James Caan in The Godfather.
