French President's wild love story with age-gap wife who is his former teacher

Daily Mirror

26-05-2025

President Emmanuel Macron was just 16 when he went against his parents' wishes and vowed to marry Brigitte Trogneux - who at the time was a married mum-of-three
Emmanuel Macron and his wife have brushed off an incident that appeared to show the French President being slapped during a heated exchange between the pair. The couple, who are on a tour of Southeast Asia, were filmed arriving at Hanoi airport in Vietnam on their official plane.
The shocking clip shows Macron 's profile through the vehicle door. Seconds later, his wife, Brigette, quickly raises a hand to his face and appears to strike him. The president, 47, looks taken aback before he addresses onlookers by waving and smiling at them outside.
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The two then walk down the stairs, with Emmanuel attempting to hold her hand, but she chooses not to take it. Instead, the First Lady holds onto the handrail of the walkway. An Elysee official denied it showed an argument between the couple, with a statement saying: "It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh."
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It's a far cry from their usual affectionate displays over the course of their 18-year marriage. Macron's wife, Brigitte Trogneux, was his drama teacher in high school and is 25 years his senior. He's 47, she's 72.
The French President was just 16 when he vowed to marry Trogneux - a married mum-of-three at the time - and his parents even tried to put a stop to the schoolboy love affair, according to a book.
The unusual love story has captivated French tabloids and magazines, and emerged as a major storyline during Macron's rapid rise towards the Elysee Palace, with both the husband and wife hitting back at critics. Macron, who was elected in 2017 as the Republic's 5th youngest ever president, has repeatedly paid tribute to his wife and her unwavering support.
Their romance blossomed as Trogneux taught Macron when he was a 15-year-old student at a Jesuit college in Amiens. A 2017 book says he defied orders from his parents to end the romance and his father ordered Trogneux to stay away from his son until he reached 18.
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A tearful Trogneux, then known as Brigitte Auziere (her married name), replied: "I cannot promise you anything." In 2016, she told a French documentary that he wasn't like the other teenagers in her classes, BBC News reported.
She recalled how he proposed writing a play together, adding: "I didn't think it would go very far. I thought he would get bored. We wrote, and little by little I was totally overcome by the intelligence of this boy.' At 16, Macron's parents sent him to Paris to continue his studies but he vowed to marry Trogneux, who was around 40.
Trogneux told the documentary: 'We'd call each other all the time and spend hours on the phone. Bit by bit, he defeated all my resistance, in an amazing way, with patience.'
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The relationship continued after he left for Paris, became an adult and graduated from university, and eventually moved into investment banking, although it was unclear when the romance became a full-blown love affair.
Trogneux joined him in Paris and the couple married in 2007 - but she did not take his name after she divorced her first husband. The pair do not have any children together.
New details about their romance emerged in journalist Anne Fulda's timely book, "Emannuel Macron: A Perfect Young Man". She interviewed Macron, Trogneux and both of his parents, and said they were shocked when they found out he was pursuing his teacher.
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Macron's mother was quoted as saying: "We couldn't believe it. What is clear is that when Emmanuel met Brigitte, we couldn't just say: 'That's great!'" She later confronted Trogneux saying: "Don't you see. You've had your life. But he won't have children with you."
Fulda said Macron's parents have since accepted the relationship and his mother has since described her as "adorable". In the book, Trogneux was discreet about the origins of the affair.
She was quoted as saying: "Nobody will ever know at what moment our story became a love story. That belongs to us. That is our secret."
Macron, who could become France's youngest ever president, hit back at critics, saying: "Nobody would call it unusual if the age difference was reversed. People find it difficult to accept something that is sincere and unique."
Fulda said the couple once avoided publicity but that changed once Macron started running for president. She told BBC News: "He wants to give the idea that, if he was able to seduce a woman 24 years his senior and a mother of three children, in a small provincial town... despite opprobrium and mockery, he can conquer France in the same way."