Noble met James Major at a party at London's Café Royal in February 1998. The couple became engaged in May 1998,[1] and were married in May 1999 in the chapel of the Houses of Parliament in London.[2] The reception was held at The Dorchester and earned them a £400,000 deal from Hello! magazine. After her marriage she was known as Emma Major.[3] The couple have a son, Harrison ("Harry") (born in July 2000),[4] who was later diagnosed as autistic.[5]
The marriage ended in an acrimonious divorce in 2004, with Noble accusing Major of "unreasonable behaviour".[6][7] Noble was granted a decree nisi on the uncontested grounds that her husband had behaved in such a way that she could not reasonably be expected to continue living with him.