Overview

• Judge Stuart Farquhar ruled on July 12 that the ex-wife must reimburse £80,000 toward her ex-husband’s £160,000 vaginoplasty performed in 2024.
• The Brighton Family Court decision marks the first UK case to apply financial remedy rules to split the cost of transgender surgery.
• The court accepted medical evidence that the procedure addressed a genuine medical and psychological need arising from gender dysphoria.
• Financial remedy proceedings bar consideration of blame, leading the judge to treat the surgery like any other essential health expense.
• The couple’s £3 million in joint assets and a dispute over maintenance versus the ex-husband’s personal spending highlighted the contentious nature of the case.