Over the weekend disturbing photos were released by a popular British newspaper that show celebrity chef Nigella Lawson seemingly being choked by her husband Charles Saatchi.

The Mirror’s Sunday People published several pictures of the couple while they were out dining on June 9 at Scott’s in Mayfair, in which the 70-year-old former advertising mogul is seen grasping his 53-year-old’s wife neck multiple times and at one point pinching her nose. According the paper, Lawson appeared frightened and distressed and by the end of the meal she was in tears.

A witness to the incident said, “It was utterly shocking to watch. I have no doubt she was scared. It was horrific, ­really. She was very tearful and was ­constantly dabbing her eyes.”

The witness also explained how Lawson kissed Saatchi before they left the restaurant calling it “a strange thing” as “she ­appeared to be a woman who loves him but was clearly unable to stop him being abusive, ­frightening and ­disrespectful to her.”

Despite how the incident appeared to people on the outside, Saatachi said it’s nothing to get alarmed about.

“About a week ago, we were sitting outside a restaurant having an intense debate about the children, and I held Nigella’s neck repeatedly while attempting to emphasize my point,” he told The Evening Standard on Monday, according to Reuters. “There was no grip. It was a playful tiff. The pictures are horrific but give a far more drastic and violent impression of what took place. Nigella’s tears were because we both hate arguing, not because she had been hurt.”

Saatachi also explained that they made up by the time they got home but noted that Lawson left their residence in an attempt maintain her privacy.

“The paparazzi were congregated outside our house after the story broke yesterday morning, so I told Nigella to take the kids ’til the dust settled,” he told The Evening Standard.

While Saatachi initially downplayed the meaning behind these photos, he has since admitted to assaulting his wife of almost 10 years. CNN reports that “a 70-year-old man voluntarily attended a central London police station and accepted a caution for assault.”

According to the New York Daily News, this isn’t the first time Lawson and Saatchi had an argument in public nor is it the first time they appeared to be having a disagreement while at Scott’s. Last December, Saatachi was seen using his hand to cover Lawson’s mouth in the midst of a conversation while dining at the restaurant.