The wife of a mushroom farmer who says she is trapped in a loveless marriage has lost her long-running legal battle to divorce her husband.

Tini Owens, 68, wants to end her 40-year marriage to 80-year-old Hugh Owens, insisting their relationship has broken down.

But - in a case which has led to calls for Britain's divorce laws to be changed - Mr Owens refuses to agree to the split.

Despite his wife having had an affair and the couple now living in separate houses, he says she is just 'bored' and insists they still have a 'few years' to enjoy life together.

Five Supreme Court judges today waved away Mrs Owens' pleas to let her end the union and ruled she must stay married.

Top judges backed previous court rulings that Mrs Owens has failed to establish that her marriage had irretrievably broken down, as required by law.

Tini Owens, who says she is trapped in a marriage which her husband, Hugh, won't let her leave, has lost her Supreme Court bid for a divorce. Judges found her marriage had not 'irretrievably broken down', as required by the law

A number of justices expressed their reluctance to make the ruling, but said they were bound by the law.

Speaking after the judgment was delivered, Mrs Owens' solicitor, Simon Beccle, said many people would find the Supreme Court decision 'hard to understand'.

He said she had hoped judges would make a decision which would be 'forward-thinking and fit with the current social mores'.

'Mrs Owens is devastated by this decision, which means that she cannot move forward with her life and obtain her independence from Mr Owens,' her lawyer added.

Mr Owens' lawyers meanwhile said he took 'no pleasure' from the legal process, but felt his wife's petition for a divorce should be contested.

The lawyers' statement said: 'He should not be unfairly criticised for attempting to save his marriage.

'He did not accept that his behaviour during the marriage was such as to justify the ending of the marriage by divorce. At the outset he hoped that there could be a reconciliation with his wife.'

The couple have been living in neighbouring properties in Worcestershire since February 2015

Mr and Mrs Owens married in 1978 and lived in Broadway, Worcestershire, judges have heard. Mrs Owens petitioned for divorce in 2015 after moving out.

They have two grown up children in their 30s, Katherine and Thomas, who is also a director of his father's haulage company, which made a £451,000 profit in 2015.

What is the law on when you can divorce? The Owens' divorce case is rare because in most cases both parties agree to splitting up, even if they can't agree on the settlement. In England and Wales the petitioner, Mrs Owens, must prove fault for an immediate divorce. 'Fault' can include abusive behaviour or infidelity. But if fault cannot be proved the couple must separate for at least two years and then both agree to an official divorce. If one party refuses to agree to the divorce - like Mr Owens is doing - the couple must be separated for at least five years before the separation alone will be enough to grant the petition. That means Mrs Owens must wait until 2020 to be eligible. Advertisement

Mr Owens, who describes himself as a 'Mushroom Growing Specialist', runs a successful fruit and vegetable growing company near Evesham with a £7.2million annual turnover. He and his wife are the two main shareholders.

They amassed four 'nice houses', including a manor house in Worcestershire that formed their matrimonial home, as well as properties in Wales and France, and lived a 'genteel life in genteel company' after marrying in 1978.

But Mrs Owens 'commenced an intimate relationship with another man', Ted Olive, in November 2012. The fling ended in August 2013, and 18 months later Mrs Owens moved out of their home before asking for a divorce.

The couple have been living in neighbouring properties in Worcestershire since February 2015.

Mrs Owens previously told judges that her husband makes her feel 'unloved, isolated and alone'.

Her lawyer is demanding a change in the law by introducing 'no-fault' divorces, where a spouse does not have to prove that his or her partner has done anything wrong.

Supreme Court justices analysed rival legal arguments, which revolved around concepts of 'unreasonable' behaviour and 'fault', at a hearing in London in May and delivered a ruling today.

Lady Hale, Britain's most senior female judge, said: 'I have found this case very troubling. It is not for us to change the law laid down by Parliament - our role is only to interpret and apply the law.'

She said she had been 'reluctantly persuaded' that Mrs Owens' appeal should be dismissed.

Mr Owens runs a vegetable growing company near Evesham with a £7.2million turnover

His lawyers claim that when the legal case started he thought he could reconcile with his wife

A judge in the lower court said Parliament had 'decreed' that being in a 'wretchedly unhappy marriage' was not a ground for divorce.

Lord Wilson indicated that Mrs Owens would be able to divorce in 2020, when the couple have been separated for five years.

Another, Supreme Court president Lady Hale, said she found the case 'very troubling'. But she said it was not for judges to 'change the law'.

Mrs Owen's husband says she is 'bored' rather than because of any legal grounds

Mrs Owens had already lost two rounds of the battle.

In 2016 she failed to persuade a Family Court judge to allow her to divorce.

Last year three appeal judges ruled against her after a Court of Appeal hearing in London.

They said Mrs Owens had failed to establish that her marriage had, legally, irretrievably broken down and dismissed her challenge to a ruling by Judge Robin Tolson.

One appeal judge said she reached her conclusion with 'no enthusiasm whatsoever' but that Parliament would have to decide whether to introduce 'no fault' divorce on demand.

Another said Parliament had 'decreed' that being in a 'wretchedly unhappy marriage' was not a ground for divorce.

Mrs Owens' lawyers say she should not have to prove that Mr Owens' behaviour has been 'unreasonable' - only that she should not 'reasonably be expected' to remain with him.

They say the case is about 'proper interpretation' of legislation.

Barrister Philip Marshall QC, who leads Mrs Owens' legal team, told Supreme Court justices that a 'modest shift' of focus in interpretation of legislation was required.

But barrister Nigel Dyer QC, who leads Mr Owens' legal team, disagreed and raised concern about the introduction of divorce on 'demand'.

The husband lives in a manor house in Broadway, Worcestershire, where homes regularly sell for over £1million. His wife living in a cottage across the road