Chip Wilson, the 71-year-old founder of Lululemon, has filed for divorce from his wife of 20 years, Shannon "Summer" Wilson, 52, without a prenuptial agreement in place, leaving a fortune worth hundreds of millions of pounds potentially subject to division. The filing, lodged in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in April, comes years after Wilson stepped back from the athleisure brand he founded following a series of controversies, and matters because it could reshape ownership of one of the most valuable stakes in a major global retailer.

Wilson and his wife, who was Lululemon's founding lead designer and among its first employees, separated after two decades of marriage; the exact reasons remain unclear, though sources say the couple had discussed the split with friends. Wilson currently holds roughly 8.6% of Lululemon's shares, valued at just under a billion pounds, while his wife holds about a 1% stake worth roughly £75 million. He left the company more than a decade ago after widely criticised remarks about customers' bodies in 2013, which prompted a major product recall and a sharp share price fall, and he has since continued to publicly criticise the brand's diversity-focused marketing direction.