But in February, Nicola had become a 50 per cent shareholder in Tattarang, the corporate vehicle in which the lion’s share of Forrest’s Fortescue shares are housed.

Additionally, last month $1.1 billion of shares in Fortescue were transferred into a company owned by Nicola.

Nicola, who is said to be based in Sydney, has (on paper at least) a larger interest in Fortescue than her husband.

Unsurprisingly, the Forrests hosed down speculation that their split would have implications for Fortescue.

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“Our friendship and commitment to our family remains strong. There is no impact on the operations, control or direction of Fortescue, Minderoo or Tattarang,” the Forrests said in a statement.

Magellan’s founder and former chief executive Hamish Douglass confirmed the split from his wife in December 2021 and declared he had no intention of selling his shares. Eleven months later, he ditched 70 per cent of his stake.

If there are any concerns that Nicola Forrest may ultimately choose to sell some Fortescue shares, it can create an overhang in the market with the presence of a large block of shares that could be sold and place downward pressure on the stock.

There was no evidence of this on Thursday as the share price gained 0.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, Kerry Stokes-controlled West Australian newspaper reported on Thursday that: “In December, The West Australian emailed Anthony Flannery, who handles media inquiries for the Forrests, to ask if they were ‘effectively living separate lives’ and what that meant to their extensive business and philanthropic interests, including their 36 per cent stake in listed company Fortescue Metals Group.

“In response to the email, Mrs Forrest spoke with The West Australian, angrily denying the rumours, slamming the question and intrusion on her family.”

In February, a very public spat erupted between Stokes and Forrest.

Forrest suggested Stokes was misusing his media companies for commercial reasons based on the fact that Forrest had moved a large contract for heavy mining equipment away from Stokes-owned Caterpillar.

While Stokes was not speaking directly to journalists at the time, one got the impression from the Stokes camp that he took the view that this altercation was the result of Forrest’s dislike of reasonable criticism or scrutiny.

Perth’s chattering class speculated at the time Forrest-versus-Stokes was about The West Australian newspaper’s intrusion into his personal life.

But it’s all on very public display now.

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