Financial talk

Can you tell me how the divorce proceedings work in England? My boyfriend has been seperated for over a year from his wife, and tells me that getting divorced in England is more difficult than getting divorced in the USA. He has two kids with her and he tells me he has to come up with a financial settlement with his wife, and getting divorced could take a very long time. And is it normal for a person in England to have a gf/bf while they are still married and maybe even live with their gf/bf? He says this is the norm on how people do it in England. Is he just pulling my leg?!