Who Is French President Emmanuel Macron's Wife, Brigitte Macron? All About the Former Teacher and Her Relationship with the Politician
French President Emmanuel Macron has been with his wife, Brigitte, for nearly two decades.
After meeting the former high school teacher while the now-president was a student, the pair tied the knot in 2007. During a September 2017 conversation with CNN, Emmanuel, who became president in 2017, said that "love" is a big part of the "balance" in his life.
'Love is part of my life and my balance,' he said. 'I do believe that you don't build something great and you don't behave properly if you're not balanced and a strong couple. I've been with my wife for decades now and she's part of me.'
More recently, on May 25, a video circulated the internet that appeared to show Emmanuel being pushed in the face by his wife. According to French outlet Le Figaro, a palace official responded to the clip by claiming 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."
"it was a moment of closeness," the official added, per the news agency.
So, who is Emmanuel Macron's wife? Here's everything to know about Brigitte Macron and her relationship with the French president.
Brigitte and Emmanuel met when he was a student at Le Providence, a Catholic school in northern France. Brigitte worked as a drama teacher and was 39 years old at the time, while Emmanuel was 15. The president's parents originally thought he was seeing Brigitte's daughter, but when they found out he had feelings for the teacher, they sent him to boarding school.
"Emmanuel had to leave for Paris," she told Paris Match. "I told myself that he would fall in love with someone his [own] age. It didn't happen."
The two kept in touch over the years, but Brigitte was married at the time and had three children who were around Emmanuel's age, and she chose to prioritize them.
"That lasted 10 years, the time to put them on the rails. You can imagine what they were hearing," she said. "But I didn't want to miss out on my life."
Brigitte, who is 25 years older than Emmanuel, was already married for three years before he was born in December 1977.
She admitted in an interview with France's RTL radio station that having an age gap in their relationship has been difficult.
"We are not a model couple," Brigitte said. "Of course we are not the ideal couple. Being a couple is complicated, it's an everyday struggle (...) When you have a big age difference, it can be even more complicated."
She added, however, that she doesn't feel the word "cougar" applies to her, and is offensive.
"What is this word, it doesn't describe anything!" she said. "I have always been attracted to men of my age. Except Emmanuel Macron, who was the exception."
Brigitte and her first husband André-Louis Auzière, a banker, had three children together: Sébastien, Laurence and Tiphaine. She also has seven grandchildren.
All of Brigitte's children went on to be successful in their own careers, becoming a cardiologist, lawyer and a statistical engineer. When Brigitte started her relationship with Emmanuel, she knew that it would hurt her children, but after putting it off for a decade, she also realized she had to do what would make her happy.
'I know that I have hurt my children, and that is the thing I reproach myself for the most. But I couldn't not do it,' she told Elle in December 2017. 'There are times in your life when you make critical choices. And for me, this was one of those times.'
Emmanuel and Brigitte tied the knot in 2007, a year afer she divorced her ex-husband, who later died in 2019. Before the reception, Brigitte told Paris Match that Emmanuel thanked her children for supporting their relationship.
'Thanks for accepting us, a not-quite-normal couple,' he said.
The politician has cited his wife as his 'anchor,' helping to keep him honest and focused in his job, without sparing him the truth.
'For me, it's very important for my personal balance to have somebody at home telling you the truth every day,' he told CNN.
He continued, 'Access to truth is one of the main challenges. Somebody with her deep convictions and knowing you for what you are and loving you for what you are — not for what you represent or your role or your honors … That is very important to me. That is my anchor.'
Brigitte confirmed to Elle that she and her husband try to avoid spending nights apart if possible, even with his busy schedule.
'It comforts me when Emmanuel is by my side,' she said. 'I wouldn't want to speak for him, but I'm pretty sure he feels the same way. We're just like any other couple. We agree, we disagree. We argue, we stop arguing. It's very fluid.'
Brigitte added that while she used to be a 'big worrier' before she married Emmanuel, since they got together they both have ceased worrying as much.
'A bit like the Platonic idea that you meet your better half and you fit together,' she said. 'Given our age difference, that fit wasn't so obvious for us, but we fit. When I read about us as a couple, I always feel like I'm reading someone else's story. Yet it's a simple story.'
In July 2024, Emmanuel and Brigitte were spotted at the Paris Olympics. The couple attended the opening ceremony, as well as several sporting events.
On May 25, a video emerged of what appeared to be Emmanuel being pushed in the face by Brigitte as they arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, and exited the presidential plane.
According to ABC News, Emmanuel played down the incident, telling reporters, "We are bickering and joking with my wife and a video becomes a sort of geoplanetary catastrophe."
"In the world we live in, we don't have a lot of time to lose" on discussing such topics, he added.
Per the outlet, Emmanuel also denied any "domestic scene," and said that it was "all a bit of nonsense."
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