LOS ANGELES - Harvey Weinstein's wife, Marchesa fashion designer Georgina Chapman, has announced that she is leaving the powerful movie producer - as more women claim he sexually harassed or assaulted them.

On Tuesday (Oct 10), she said in a statement to People magazine on: "My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions. I have chosen to leave my husband. Caring for my young children is my first priority and I ask the media for privacy at this time."

Weinstein, 65, and Chapman, 41, married in 2007 and have two children, aged seven and four. He was previously married to his former assistant Eve Chilton.

The New York Times published an article last Thursday in which it was alleged that Weinstein had sexually harassed several women over 30 years. At the time, he told the New York Post his wife "stands 100 per cent behind me".

"Georgina and I have talked about this at length," he said, adding that she was helping him become "a better human" and to "apologise to people for my bad behavior, to say I'm sorry, and to absolutely mean it".

On Sunday, he was fired from his job as co-chairman of The Weinstein Company.