TV chef Nigella Lawson was spotted out in London without her wedding ring, just hours after her husband Charles Saatchi accepted a caution for grabbing her throat outside a posh restaurant.
It was the first time she had been seen in public since fleeing the couple's home last Sunday, the Sun reported.
The 53-year-old looked pale and drawn as she spoke on her mobile yesterday close to the Mayfair bolthole where she has been living apart from Saatchi.
Nigella was spotted leaving her 10,000-dollar-a-week rented apartment in central London shortly after 10am, unaccompanied and wearing little make-up.
She looked thinner than she was last pictured leaving the family home, where her husband continues to live.
She paced just 20 yards to a restaurant for a late breakfast. But within seconds she walked out again to take a call on her phone, then trawled distractedly up and down the street, deep in conversation.
More From This Section
At one point Nigella, in knee-length boots, trousers and a blouse, grew so engrossed that she sat at the cafe table.
An onlooker said Nigella clearly has a lot of things on her mind and seems to have had a few stressful days.