'Austerity Mum' blogger exposed as top exec's wife

The website of a blogger calling herself "Austerity Mum" about coping in the financial downturn was offline Monday after she was exposed as being the wife of a top London executive.

The light-hearted Internet hit charting the travails of a housewife's attempts to rein in spending were exposed as being written by Lisa Unwin, the wife of Ashley Unwin, the head of PricewaterhouseCoopers' consulting business.

"Austere times call for drastic measures", she said, meaning "no new clothes for me, no new jewellery, shoes, facials - waxing of course is ring-fenced".

However, other luxuries given up involved helicopter trips and a holiday in the Maldives.

But the anonymous blog has now also gone after newspapers revealed her identity and ran pictures of her sprawling eight-bedroom Georgian house, which came complete with a ballroom.

"I had the free time and I enjoy writing," she told The Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

"The blog was intended to be a piece of creative writing. It was never intended to be a factual account of my life.

"It seems to have offended people, which I completely regret. That was never my intention."
 

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