Politician George Galloway, 65, announces he is expecting his sixth child as he announces he is due to become a father again with fourth wife 30 years his junior
- George Galloway, 65, expecting a baby with his fourth wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiw
- Former Labour MP posted a photo of his wife after she attended a 20 week scan
- The baby will be the couple’s third child together and Galloway’s sixth in total
- Galloway married Miss Pertiwi, 35, at a hotel in Amsterdam back in April 2012
George Galloway has announced he is expecting a baby with his fourth wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwim, who is 30 years his junior.
The baby is due in the summer and will be the couple’s third child together and Galloway’s sixth in total.
The former Labour MP posted a photograph on social media of his wife sporting her pregnancy bump after she attended a 20 week scan.
George Galloway, 65, pictured with his fourth wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwim. The baby is due in the summer and will be the couple’s third child together and Galloway’s sixth in total
Galloway, 65, earlier told his 345,000 followers on Twitter: ‘By the Grace of God there should be another New Galloway along in the summer.
‘By His Grace @gayatrigalloway and I are expecting our third child (my sixth) and we are truly grateful.’
Galloway married then Miss Pertiwi, 35, an anthropologist, in a hotel in Amsterdam in April 2012.
She is a Dutch-born researcher of Indonesian heritage who took a degree in cultural anthropology at the University of Utrecht.
She also studied in Amsterdam before taking a masters degree in children’s rights at Amsterdam University.
It is believed she got to know Galloway through his ‘Viva Palestina’ charity and in 2012 accompanied him on a trip to Indonesia.
The couple were sent dozens of messages from well-wishers after announcing their happy news.
From 1979 to 1999, Galloway was married to his former teenage sweetheart, Elaine Fyffe. They had a daughter, Lucy. The couple separated in 1987 but did not divorce for a further 12 years.
The former Labour MP posted a photograph on social media of his wife sporting her pregnancy bump after she attended a 20 week scan, following his announcement on Twitter
The politician had already taken Dr Amineh Abu-Zayyad, a Palestinian scientist, as a second wife in a Muslim ceremony in 1994. A year after his divorce from Elaine in 1999, he married Dr Abu-Zayyad in a civil ceremony.
In 2009 Dr Abu-Zayyad obtained an uncontested divorce citing unreasonable behaviour. In divorce papers she said the marriage had irretrievably broken down because his friendships with other women left her depressed.
By this time Galloway already had a son, Zein, with his Lebanese former researcher, Rima Husseini, whom he had married in a Muslim ceremony in 2007.
Speaking after his fifth child was born in 2017, Galloway told how he wanted his family to keep growing.
He said: ‘It used to be the tradition of Irish Catholic immigrants to have six children, so I’m not stopping here.
Galloway with his first wife and former teenage sweetheart, Elaine Fyffe. The pair were married from 1979 to 1999. They separated in 1987 but did not divorce for another 12 years
The politician and Dr Amineh Abu-Zayyad, who he took as his wife in a Muslim ceremony in 1994. A year after his first divorce in 1999, he married Dr Abu-Zayyad in a civil ceremony
Galloway and Rima Husseini, a Lebanese researcher, whom he married as his third wife in a Muslim ceremony in 2007. The pair had a son, called Zein
‘As long as God gives me breath – and energy – there will be more. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me.
‘There’s nothing that keeps you young like your children climbing over your face in the morning to wake you up. It’s life-enhancing.’
Dundee-born Galloway first became an MP in 1987 after winning the Glasgow Hillhead seat for Labour.
He was expelled from the party in 2003 in the wake of outspoken comments on the Iraq war. In 2005 he was elected MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, standing as a Respect candidate.
He represented Bradford West after a by-election in 2012 but lost his seat in 2015.
He also appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006.