Legendary guitarist for The Who Pete Townshend is finally divorcing his wife Karen Astley Townshend today, 15 years after they separated. It is widely believed that Townshend is finalizing the divorce in order to marry his long-term girlfriend Rachel Fuller.

The divorce decree nisi will be announced in the High Court in London. A decree nisi is the first stage of the divorce process in Great Britain. The divorce will be final in six to eight weeks.

Pete and Karen married in 1968, shortly after The Who gained fame. Their marriage survived Pete’s drug and alcohol addictions in the ’70s and ’80s. They split in 1994 and announced at that time that they would divorce in 2000. It appears that they decided to wait until their oldest child reached adulthood instead.The couple have three children together, Emma, 40, Aminita, 37, and Joseph, 19.

Townshend has a fortune estimated to be around £35 million including a £15 million mansion he shares with Fuller. Due to the length of the marriage, it seems probable that Karen Townshend will received a large award or settlement. Spousal support payments will likely be lower now that all children are over 18.

As we saw in the Madonna–Guy Ritchie divorce, the decree nisi court announcement in England is a non-event. Neither party is expected to attend the hearing which basically rubber-stamps the agreement of the parties.