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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau are separating after 18 years of marriage.
In a brief statement issued by the prime minister on Instagram, he said that after “many meaningful and difficult conversations” the pair have “made the decision to separate.”
“As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build,” said Trudeau in his post, which was also shared by Gregoire Trudeau’s account.
For the well-being of their children, the Trudeaus are asking Canadians to respect the family’s privacy at this time.
The prime minister and Gregoire Trudeau have three children: Xavier who is 15, Ella-Grace who is 14, and Hadrien who is nine.
In a separate release, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirmed that the pair have “signed a legal separation agreement.”
“They have worked to ensure that all legal and ethical steps with regards to their decision to separate have been taken, and will continue to do so moving forward,” said PMO spokesperson Alison Murphy in the statement.
Trudeau’s office said that the prime minister and Sophie are “focused on raising their kids in a safe, loving and collaborative environment,” and both will be “a constant presence in their children’s lives.”
Canadians can expect “to often see the family together, and they plan to be together on vacation, beginning next week.”
As a couple, the pair has had a high public and international profile predating Trudeau’s time in elected office, and already the news has been picked up by outlets across the world.
Justin Trudeau leaves with his new bride Sophie Gregoire in his father’s 1959 Mercedes 300 SL after their marriage ceremony in Montreal on May 28, 2005. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)
Trudeau, 51, and Gregoire Trudeau, 48, were married on May 28, 2005 at a widely-covered ceremony in Montreal, after Trudeau and the then-Quebec TV personality became engaged in 2004.
The pair first met in their youth, as Gregoire Trudeau went to school with Trudeau’s youngest brother, Michel, and then reconnected and began dating after co-hosting the Montreal Grand Prix charity ball in 2003.
In an anniversary post last year, Gregoire Trudeau spoke about the pair navigating “sunny days, heavy storms, and everything in between.” In the social media post, she acknowledged that long-term relationships can be “challenging in so many ways.”
While Gregoire Trudeau has been less visible in recent years, she has continued to use her platform to promote causes that she cares about, and is writing two books that will be published by Penguin Random House.
The first, “Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other” is expected to publish in spring 2024 followed by a children’s’ picture book in 2025.
The family last appeared together at last month’s Canada Day events, and the prime minister and his wife most recently travelled together to London to attend the coronation of King Charles III in May and hosted U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s official visit to Ottawa in March.
The then-growing Trudeau family moved from Montreal to Ottawa as Trudeau’s political career advanced, and after watching his father announce a separation from his mother Margaret while in-office, Trudeau and Gregoire Trudeau had spoken about the considerations they made about the impact political life can have on a marriage.
More to come…
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