Like James Martin, my ex committed the ultimate sin

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Celebrity chef James Martin explained that such a scenario was exactly what befell him in 2008, towards the end of his relationship with James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, when his partner betrayed him by… buying him a very expensive car. The heart of the problem for Martin was that the gifts represented an “imbalance” in the relationship that he didn’t believe could be overcome. And instead of buying me supercars, my partner bought the groceries and treated me to small gifts like DVDs and video games so that I wasn’t completely consumed by despair. When your partner does something nice for you, that’s a point for them – and when they buy you an Aston Martin, that’s 180,000 points for them.