So Jenson, why WON'T you live with your wife? Is it A) You're too 'selfish' B) Being at home is 'boring' C) You don't want to have children or D) All of the above?

  • Jenson Button had been with Jessica Michibata for five years
  • He surprised his then girlfriend by proposing to her last year 
  • However they spend most of their time apart due to busy careers 

By Sarah Duguid And Angella Johnson For The Mail On Sunday

Published: 19:46 EST, 19 September 2015 | Updated: 02:16 EST, 20 September 2015

When Jenson Button’s father died suddenly in January 2014, the impact it had on the Formula 1 driver appeared to be seismic. It seemed that grief had made Button a changed man. Older. Wiser. Committing himself to a life of domestic bliss with his beautiful girlfriend of five years, Jessica Michibata, who is now his wife.

Many had assumed the former playboy, whose image as racing’s pin-up helped him amass a £63 million fortune, would never settle down, and with good reason.

Because as he now reveals, after nine months of marriage, the couple still don’t live together – and he still spends most of his time thousands of miles apart from the lingerie model. ‘We don’t see each other any more than before we were married,’ Button admits.

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Many had assumed Jenson Button (right), whose image as racing’s pin-up helped him amass a £63 million fortune, would never settle down, and with good reason until he met Jessica Michibata (left)

Many had assumed Jenson Button (right), whose image as racing’s pin-up helped him amass a £63 million fortune, would never settle down, and with good reason until he met Jessica Michibata (left)

Jessica, one of Japan’s top models, spends much of her time in Tokyo, where she shares a modest flat with her mother. Meanwhile, Jenson’s home is his lavish bachelor pad in tax haven Monaco.

‘Jessie still works a lot in Japan. She enjoys her job, she models, she had a television show and has just done a Japanese film,’ he explains. ‘She enjoys working, which is great, but obviously it means that we don’t see each other very often. We’re definitely not settled in Monaco together, not yet.’

Indeed, as it turns out, the appeal of the F1 lifestyle shows no sign of fading for Button, even at 35. Such is its pace, he says, he can’t even give his wife dates for when they will see each other. ‘I’m travelling so much with racing, I can’t say, “I’m going to have a weekend off from Formula 1 and come to Japan and see you.’’ It just doesn’t happen like that with sport. She’ll come to half the races but when I’m at a race, I’m not the same person as when I’m not at a race.

‘I have to be selfish. I have to be focused. I am a very different person, and Jessie knows that, and she understands that, as do most of my friends and family. I can be a bit snappy over a race weekend.’

There is just the merest hint of awkwardness as he explains his unusual domestic set-up. Life revolves around F1 to the extent that Button says: ‘The time we spend away helps me come back to racing. I’m so much more focused, excited about getting back into the car.’

Clearly, life on the road has become so normal for Button that he can’t imagine it any other way. ‘The worry is that you get bored if you stop. I could spend more time at home if I wanted but I like to travel,

This reputation made Jessica initially reluctant to fall for Jenson’s charm when they first met in 2008 in a hotel bar in Tokyo. She perceived him to be something of a womaniser and turned him down when he first asked her out

This reputation made Jessica initially reluctant to fall for Jenson’s charm when they first met in 2008 in a hotel bar in Tokyo. She perceived him to be something of a womaniser and turned him down when he first asked her out

Retiring from the sport he loves is not currently an option for Button. ‘I’ve got an addictive personality when it comes to achieving, to winning, to standing on the podium,’ he says

Retiring from the sport he loves is not currently an option for Button. ‘I’ve got an addictive personality when it comes to achieving, to winning, to standing on the podium,’ he says

‘I like to be outdoors. I spend a lot of time away from home so when I return it’s nice, but it still doesn’t feel like a cosy home like most people have.’

Sounding more like a bachelor than a husband, he adds: ‘I just need my apartment to be simple, easy, so I can come in, do my thing, and leave again, pack and repack and leave. It’s been my life for 16 years now – you get used to travelling the circus.’

As for the prospect of having children, 30-year-old Jessica’s biological clock will have to keep ticking until her husband retires from F1, for he says he does not want to be a father while still racing. Reasoning that it might make him too cautious when driving, he says: ‘It’s not worth the risk. If you start feeling fearful about pushing the car to the limit, you have to stop racing in Formula 1.

‘I wouldn’t spend enough time with [my children] but also you have to be so selfish when it comes to motorsport. The amount of hours you have to put into the training… you have to be selfish to succeed.’

It was during one of their rare interludes together that the couple were gassed and robbed in a rented villa in the South of France last month. The burglars made off with Jessica’s engagement ring. The incident came during one of the worst-ever racing seasons for Britain’s No 2 (behind Lewis Hamilton).

Button spent his teenage years building a career as a fearless kart-racer, switching to cars at 18, despite failing his driving test the first time. And at 20, he became the youngest British F1 driver in history

Button spent his teenage years building a career as a fearless kart-racer, switching to cars at 18, despite failing his driving test the first time. And at 20, he became the youngest British F1 driver in history

Button, who is promoting a new advertising campaign from whisky brand Johnnie Walker called Joy Will Take You Further, admits that 2015 is ‘the toughest year of my career’

Button, who is promoting a new advertising campaign from whisky brand Johnnie Walker called Joy Will Take You Further, admits that 2015 is ‘the toughest year of my career’

But today, in the futuristic McLaren Technology Centre, he exudes a casual contentment.

Similarly, in 2010, Button was the victim to an attempted carjacking incident as he travelled between the circuit and his hotel in Sao Paulo. He saw four men pull out machine guns and aim at his vehicle.

‘It’s a very weird one for a racing driver because so much adrenaline surrounds our life that you react to things very differently. So when we almost got carjacked, and the burglary, I find it very difficult trying to understand the emotion because for me it’s adrenaline which I always associate with good things. So it’s really strange when you get carjacked to understand how you should be feeling. Everyone else is very upset, very emotional, but for you, you’ve got that buzz. I’m usually happy when I get that emotion, so it’s quite strange and it takes a couple of days to sink in.’

Button, who is promoting a new advertising campaign from whisky brand Johnnie Walker called Joy Will Take You Further, admits that 2015 is ‘the toughest year of my career’. His professional struggles made even more difficult since his father John suffered a fatal heart attack aged 70 at his home in the South of France.

A larger-than-life character known for wearing his lucky pink shirt at the track, John was his son’s staunchest supporter.

‘Dad bought me my first kart for Christmas in 1987,’ Button recalls. ‘I got into it straight away and drove it around the pub car park.’

Button Sr backed his son, even though he sometimes struggled with the costs.

He once had to borrow money to pay the petrol for the van that took them and the kart to a track in Scotland.

‘I loved competing and beating the others,’ Button says.

‘I remember winning my first race, standing on the podium and looking down at the other kids and my trophy was bigger than theirs – that’s when I knew it was something I wanted to do.’

Button spent his teenage years building a career as a fearless kart-racer, switching to cars at 18, despite failing his driving test the first time. And at 20, he became the youngest British F1 driver in history.

In those early years, he partied as hard as he drove, gaining a reputation for his extravagant lifestyle. His team boss at Benetton, Flavio Briatore, dubbed him a playboy and team-mate Jacques Villeneuve commented that Button was better suited to a boy band than the cut and thrust of F1.

This reputation made Jessica initially reluctant to fall for Jenson’s charm when they first met in 2008 in a hotel bar in Tokyo.

She perceived him to be something of a womaniser and turned him down when he first asked her out.

Eight months later she gave in, but made no secret of the fact that she wanted to get married. Indeed, she expected a proposal after his 2009 World Championship win, but none was forthcoming. They separated for a while in 2011, then got back together.

Her patience was eventually rewarded on Valentine’s Day last year, when Button surprised her with a proposal.

It came a month after his father’s death.

Retiring from the sport he loves is not currently an option for Button. ‘I’ve got an addictive personality when it comes to achieving, to winning, to standing on the podium,’ he says.

‘I know I haven’t had that for a few years but that’s what I love and what I want to get back to.’

So it seems it may be a long time until Jessica gets to share the same home as her husband.

 

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