WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange was seen boarding a plane to leave the UK today after agreeing a plea deal that will see him walk free from prosecution.
While much of the Australian publisher’s life has played out in public, remarkably he managed to maintain a secret love life from within the shadows.
PAJulian Assange has travelled back to Australia today as part of a plea deal with the US government[/caption]
PAIn a shock to many, he managed to keep a secret six-year romance and father two kids while living in the Ecuadorian embassy[/caption]
Ray CollinsStella outside Belmarsh high-security prison where she married Julian in 2022[/caption]
Assange, now 52, is in a relationship with South Africa-born lawyer Stella Moris, 40, which they kept secret for six years and even had two children in private before going public in 2020.
Astonishingly, the majority of their romance played out while he hid in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to the US and Sweden, before he was transferred to Belmarsh prison, where they tied the knot in 2022.
Today, the Wikileaks founder left the high-security prison, where he has been for the past five years, and is now on a plane to Australia.
It’s reported that a deal with the US will see him plead guilty to one charge of the Espionage Act – related to leaking thousands of classified US intelligence documents, including those related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – and will now walk free due to time spent.
Julian’s wife Stella told the Today programme that the arrangement had been “touch and go” and she was overcome with “a whirlwind of emotions” after discovering her husband had been released from prison.
At the time, she was yet to tell their two children – Gabriel and Max – of their father’s hopeful release, insisting it would be “a big surprise” for them.
Stella said: “We’ve been very careful because obviously no one can stop a five and a seven-year-old from, you know, shouting it from the rooftops at any given moment.”
While she says they “haven’t had much time to talk about the future”, Richard Hillgrove, who worked as Assange’s PR between 2018 and 2020, tells The Sun that he expects the Wikileaks founder will now seek a private life in rural Australia to avoid the risk of imprisonment.
He says this will likely be a “big relief” for Stella, who will be glad to have support raising their children after a challenging and tumultuous relationship.
Stella herself previously admitted their time together “wasn’t easy” but added: “I think if you’re with someone you love, you can make impossible situations possible.”
Prior to changing her name to Stella, Assange’s future wife was known as Sara Gonzalez Devant and started working with him as a legal researcher in 2011.
The 28-year-old joined the team to help fight his extradition to Sweden, where he faced an allegation of rape and molestation by two individuals, which he denied.
David New – The SunAssange speaking from the Ecuadorian embassy in 2016[/caption]
PAMum Stella with her and Assange’s children Gabriel (right) and Max (left) in 2020[/caption]
Assange’s campaign attracted celeb supporters including Pamela Anderson, who visited him in prisonRex Features
Swedish prosecutors dropped the cases in 2019, who said the evidence was not strong enough and too much time had passed to prosecute.
Recalling their first meeting, Stella said: “He had a very intense gaze. He didn’t do small talk. He wanted to know where I was coming from.
“The day I met him, we spoke for two hours. I told him about my life. Julian is unlike anyone I have ever met. He is very direct, engaging, clever, curious.”
By 2012, she changed her name to protect herself and her family – choosing the first name Stella because she liked it and Moris because it was a common surname, albeit with an unusual spelling.
Talk about Big Brother House, I mean security cameras, absolutely everywhere I didn’t think there was a corner where you couldn’t be seen.
Richard Hillgrove, founder of 6HILLGROVE PR
That same year, Stella and Assange started to grow close after he entered the Ecuadorian embassy, in London – the country granted him political asylum, meaning he could legally stay in the embassy and avoid being extradited to Sweden.
It took two years for her to realise she “was falling in love with him” and when pressed if she resisted started a relationship, she told the Guardian: “Initially yes.
“Because it made things more complicated. But in the end no… He’s a romantic, it’s such a miracle when you do fall in love, when you find someone you’re compatible with.”
Secret love tent
An embassy would become their unlikely love nest – and Stella admitted it was not easy to maintain a relationship there.
“We knew where the cameras were,” she said and revealed the couple had a private space to spend intimate time together.
“We set up a tent for privacy and escapism – it was quite cosy. The cameras multiplied over time. Eventually, there was nowhere to go without one hanging over your head.”
“The Times ran a story that strongly suggested that there was intimate footage of us being shopped around.”
Richard, Publicist and Founder of 6HILLGROVE PR, told us he was astounded they managed to have moments of privacy.
GettyStella changed her name from Sara Gonzalez Devant to protect herself while working for Julian[/caption]
AP:Associated PressThe Wikileaks founder disclosed thousands of US classified intelligence documents[/caption]
He said: “Talk about Big Brother House, I mean security cameras, absolutely everywhere I didn’t think there was a corner where you couldn’t be seen.
“But sometimes the most incredible things flourish, because of incredible restriction.
“It may have been the context for their blossoming relationship, these little moments they had together in light of the fact all eyes of the world were on them.”
‘Fake father’
Stella wasn’t able to live with Julian at the embassy but regularly stayed overnight and explained that their love – including their decision to have children – was an act of rebellion.
Cautious of prying eyes and ears, they had to take precautions to avoid details of their romance emerging – even when Stella discovered she was pregnant in 2016.
They had instructions to steal his DNA in order to establish that Julian was the father
Stella Assange
“We never showed affection in front of people. Some conversations we had on paper, like when I told him I was pregnant,” she added.
Fearing public knowledge of their relationship or pregnancy could put her at risk, she lied regularly and claimed to have gained weight to those asking if she was pregnant.
Stella revealed Julian had proposed in an unusual way in 2017 – giving her a virtual reality headset and telling her there “was a surprise inside”.
“I found myself wandering through this digital realm,” she told The Times. “There was a house, then a beach decked out with balloons and all sorts.
Marilyn KingwillThe couple recruited close pal and actor Stephen Hoo (right) to pretend to be the father of Stella’s child[/caption]
ReutersAssange after being arrested by the Met Police in 2019[/caption]
“And then Julian said ‘look up’ and there was this massive ‘Will you marry me? ‘ written in the sky.”
In a bid to divert attention from Julian being the father, the couple recruited their close friend, the British actor Stephen Hoo, to pose as the child’s dad.
She claimed the Ecuadorian embassy collected a dossier on Stephen and plotted to expose Julian as the father of first child Gabriel by collecting his DNA from a nappy and dummy, under instruction from the CIA.
“They had instructions to steal his DNA in order to establish that Julian was the father, and in a bid to hurt Julian,” Stella claimed.
The mum claimed she had discovered the plot thanks to a security guard who approached her in December 2017 and told her “not to bring Gabriel in anymore”.
She added: “It was the guard who had been instructed to steal the nappy. I guess it was a sense of moral disgust.”
There was obviously an inner-inner circle that I wasn’t part of and they did keep it enormously quiet for privacy. They didn’t want everyone poking at them.
Richard
By 2018, tensions had worsened between Julian and the embassy, with Ecuador’s president claiming he had spied on other states, which violated his asylum conditions.
It led to a set of house rules being introduced including that Stella and his few other designated visitors were only allowed to visit at weekends.
Before giving birth to their second child Max, Stella stopped visiting the embassy – fearing it would further worsen Julian’s situation – and recorded the birth on a GoPro so he could watch.
She claimed to have been refused entry to the embassy after having their second child and the next time she would see him was in Belmarsh prison after the Met Police arrested him in April 2019.
Their romance became public knowledge when Julian tried to secure bail at a home shared by Stella and his two kids.
Publicist Richard told The Sun that “everyone was surprised” when their secret romance was made public.
He says: “I wasn’t even aware of it and I’d been in there and seen them in the Ecuadorian Embassy… We were totally blindsided and it’s the most unbelievable thing that they kept it quiet from even the inner circle.
Camera PressAssange with his first son Gabriel, who is now seven years old[/caption]
GettyRichard says those close to Assange were ‘totally blindsided’ by his relationship with Stella[/caption]
“There was obviously an inner-inner circle that I wasn’t part of and they did keep it enormously quiet for privacy. They didn’t want everyone poking at them.
“It was a massive decision for Stella Assange to go public and put the kids in the limelight, to put herself in the limelight.
“She just really didn’t want that type of profile, but she had to accept that without herself stepping forward and tirelessly campaigning, he might not have walked free.
“I think the human side is why he’s walked free now, they can see he’s a family man. He’s not some lone wolf. He’s got these wonderful children, and he has the right to a family life.”
Notably, the godparents of Julian and Stella’s children are the UK rapper M.I.A. and former actress Tracy Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort.
Future ‘Crocodile Dundee’
The couple would eventually tie the knot in 2022 from within the confines of high-security Belmarsh prison, where he had been for three years.
Six guests – including Assange’s father and two brothers – were in attendance after they were given the green light to marry.
While Julian remained in bars he continued to have a relationship with his sons, with him being able to read them children’s stories during visits and treat them to chocolate.
In 2021, Stella said: “There’s a little tuck shop in the prison… We bought some chocolate and he was giving them a Malteaser one at a time.
ReutersStella married Assange inside Belmarsh prison[/caption]
Camera PressThe couple had two children, who until today were unaware their dad had been freed from prison[/caption]
“He said, ‘If you eat it slowly, you get two’. He was teaching them that if they ate them slowly they’d be rewarded. They liked that game.”
Richard tells us that Stella “did everything she could” to make their “limited time together mean something” and shield them amid fears that their father may take his own life.
He added: “She’s tried to shield them from that and tried to let them see him as much as possible. But it’s always been very limited. It’s not quality time, not really.”
Richard says Julian’s next move will be “interesting” as he may “step back into the limelight” and grant interviews – but he suspects, he will live out a quiet life.
“It will be interesting to see if he does indeed go to the Australian outback, becomes a sort of Crocodile Dundee character and we don’t hear too much from him,” he says.
“The temptation to go back into that world (of leaks) would be great because that’s in his blood.
“But I think, being a family man and knowing how close he got to losing his life, he’s got heart problems now, his mental health has been absolutely battered… He just needs to do something else.
“Maybe a different type of career, watercolours something like that. I hope he doesn’t feel tempted to go back and cause this level of disruption again.
“I think he knows the unwritten rule, he’s been watched at all times, so a quiet life would probably be the advisable thing for him, in terms of the plea deal.
“He’s done, basically, and I’m sure Stella would appreciate it if he’s around to raise the children.”
Timeline of Assange’s legal battle
2006 – Assange founds Wikileaks
April 2010 – Website releases leaked vid from a US helicopter allegedly showing an air strike that killed civilians in Baghdad
July 2010 – WikiLeaks shares more than 91,000 docs
August 2010 – Arrest warrant is issued for Assange over two separate allegations, one of rape and one of molestation, after he visits Sweden for a speaking trip. He is questioned by police in Stockholm and denies the allegations
November 2010 – International arrest warrant issued by Swedish police through Interpol after court approves a request to detain him for questioning on suspicion of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion
December 2010 – Assange surrenders to police in London and is detained pending an extradition hearing. The High Court grants Assange bail
February 2011 – A district court in Britain rules Assange should be extradited to Sweden
June 2012 – Assange enters the Ecuadorian Embassy in central London, seeking asylum, after his bids to appeal the extradition ruling fail. Police set up an around-the-clock guard to arrest him if he steps outside
August 2012 – Assange is granted political asylum by Ecuador
July 2014 – Assange loses his bid to have an arrest warrant issued in Sweden against him cancelled. A judge in Stockholm upholds the warrant alleging sexual offenses against two women
March 2015 – Swedish prosecutors ask to question Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy
August 2015 – Swedish prosecutors drop investigations into some allegations against Assange because of the statute of limitations; an investigation into a rape allegation remains active
October 2015 – Metropolitan Police end their 24-hour guard outside the Ecuadorian Embassy but say theyll arrest Assange if he leaves, ending a three-year police operation estimated to have cost millions
February 2016 – Assange claims total vindication as the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention finds that he has been unlawfully detained and recommends he be immediately freed and given compensation. Britain calls the finding frankly ridiculous
September 2018 – Ecuador’s president says his country and Britain are working on a legal solution to allow Assange to leave the embassy
October 2018 – Assange seeks a court injunction pressing Ecuador to provide him basic rights he said the country agreed to when it first granted him asylum
November 2018 – A U.S. court filing that appears to inadvertently reveal the existence of a sealed criminal case against Assange is discovered by a researcher. No details are confirmed
April 2019 – Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno blames WikiLeaks for recent corruption allegations; Ecuador’s government revokes Assange’s asylum status. London police haul Assange out of the Ecuadorian Embassy and arrest him for breaching bail conditions in 2012, as well as on behalf of U.S. authorities
May 2019 – Assange is sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for jumping bail in 2012.
May 2019 – The U.S. government indicts Assange on 18 charges over WikiLeaks publication of classified documents. Prosecutors say he conspired with U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
November 2019 – Swedish prosecutor drops rape investigation.
May 2020 – An extradition hearing for Assange is delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
June 2020 – The U.S. files a new indictment against Assange that prosecutors say underscores Assanges efforts to procure and release classified information.
January 2021 – A British judge rules Assange cannot be extradited to the U.S. because he is likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions.
July 2021 – The High Court grants the U.S. government permission to appeal the lower court’s ruling blocking Assange’s extradition.
December 2021 – The High Court rules that U.S. assurances about Assange’s detention are enough to guarantee he would be treated humanely.
March 2022 – Britain’s Supreme Court refuses to grant Assange permission to appeal against his extradition.
June 2022 – Britain’s government orders the extradition of Assange to the United States. Assange appeals.
May 2023 – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Assange should be released and nothing is served by his ongoing incarceration.
June 2023 – A High Court judge rules Assange cannot appeal his extradition.
February 20, 2024 – Assange’s lawyers launch a final legal bid to stop his extradition at the High Court.
March 26, 2024 – Two High Court judges in London give U.S. authorities three more weeks to submit further assurances, including a guarantee that Assange won’t get the death penalty, before deciding whether they will grant him a new appeal against his extradition.
May 20, 2024 – The two High Court judges rule that Assange can mount a new appeal based on arguments about whether he will receive free-speech protections or be at a disadvantage because he is not a U.S. citizen. The date of the hearing has yet to be determined.
June 24, 2024 – The U.S. Justice Department says in a letter filed in court that, under a deal with the agency, Assange will be allowed to walk free in return for pleading guilty to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to unlawfully obtain and disseminate classified national defense information.