Artist John Everett Millais married the ex-wife of which Victorian philosopher?

Euphemia "Effie" Gray (1828-97) was encouraged by her father to marry family friend John Ruskin (1819-1900) in 1848. Unfortunately, the couple’s personalities clashed and Effie was often ignored by her husband who preferred to concentrate on his solitary studies. To relieve her boredom, Effie modelled for the artist John Everett Millais (1829-96). As a result, Millais was invited to visit the Ruskins in Scotland where he and Effie became close friends.

Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era. He wrote on a wide range of subjects, including geology, architecture, myths, ornithology, literature, education, botany, and political economy. In all his writing, he emphasised the connections between nature, art and society.

After five years of marriage, Effie Ruskin was still a virgin, her husband having put off consummating the marriage to allow him to concentrate on his studies. Due to the lack of common ground, Effie decided to have their marriage annulled and eventually married Millais in 1855. Millais and Effie had a happy marriage, which resulted in eight children.

Due to her annulment from Ruskin, Effie and Millais were barred from any event involving the presence of Queen Victoria. Being a rather socially active couple, they were disheartened by this, however, when Millais was dying, the Queen relented and awarded him a baronetcy, thus giving Effie the title Lady Millais.