In November 1966, his wife Gillian, with whom he had three children, began divorce proceedings against him, and in March 1967 Mr Justice Orr granted a "decree nisi" in Blake's absence, on the grounds that the conviction of a spouse for treason can amount to cruelty or constructive desertion. Custody of their three sons, Anthony, James, and Patrick, was awarded to Gillian. This caused Blake a good deal of grief, though he knew that Gillian would have struggled to settle into life in the Soviet Union.