Rock legend Mick Jagger's "marriage that never was" with Texan model Jerry Hall was declared "null and void" by a London High Court Judge yesterday.
Neither partner in one of the entertainment world's most glamorous and tempestuous relationships was present in court for the legal ending to the affair that lasted 22 years.
London lawyers Mishcon de Reya, who acted for Princess Diana in her divorce and who represented Hall, said the couple were still friends and "will always be linked through the great shared love they have for their four children".
A spokesman for the lawyers said both partners were determined to play a full part as parents and were greatly relieved that the legal process was over and that a confidential financial agreement had been ratified.
The Rolling Stones' frontman, who earlier this month paid Hall a reported £10 million settlement, has acknowledged having a child with Brazilian model Luciana Morad. The 56-year-old singer, famed for his swivelling hips and pouting lips, also has four children with Hall, one with his first wife Bianca, and another with author and actress Marsha Hunt.
Hall (43) filed for divorce last Christmas after hearing of the rock star's affair with Morad.
After behind-the-scene negotiations between lawyers, Hall last month dropped her opposition to Jagger's claims that their marriage had never been valid.
Instead Hall's petition, in which she had originally sought a divorce, was altered to seek a nullity decree - a court declaration that their marriage was a marriage that never was, as far as the law was concerned.