France’s first lady has revealed how she thought her husband Emmanuel Macron would fall in love with someone his own age after he was sent away to boarding school as a teenager for pursuing his teacher.
The president was 15 when he fell for Brigitte Macron, then a 39-year-old drama teacher at the Catholic Providence school in Amiens, in northern France.
The schoolboy’s parents had believed their son was dating his teacher’s daughter, Laurence, until the truth came out through a family friend.
French president Emmanuel Macron and first lady Brigitte married in 2007— (EPA)
Shocked at the illicit affair, the Macrons removed their teenager from the school and sent him to boarding school in Paris.
In an interview with Paris Match magazine, Ms Macron said she thought Emmanuel would move on when he was sent to Paris.
But while his parents hoped distance would cool the burning embers of passion, the young Emmanuel vowed to marry the former Ms Auziere and held fast to his oath.
“For me, such a young boy was crippling. Emmanuel had to leave for Paris. I told myself that he would fall in love with someone his [own] age. It didn’t happen,” Ms Macron said.
The couple, who have a 24-year age gap, married in 2007. Becoming a very youthful stepfather at the age of 29 to Brigitte’s three adult children, he told them at the wedding reception: “Thanks for accepting us, a not-quite-normal couple.”
The couple have a 24-year age gap— (AP)
Ms Macron said her children were the “obstacle” that caused her to wait a decade before marrying Emmanuel.
She said: “I took time so I would not wreck their lives. That lasted 10 years, the time to put them on the rails. You can imagine what they were hearing. But I didn’t want to miss out on my life.”
Mr Macron became France’s youngest ever president at the age of 39 – the same age that his wife, now 64, was when they met.
The first lady says she waited a decade to marry her husband in order to protect her children from scandal— (PA)
Praising her husband, the first lady said his sharp intellect still surprises her every day.
She said: “I have never seen such a memory ... such an intellectual capacity. I had many brilliant pupils, and none had his capability. I have always admired him.”
Many commentators have said the obsession with their age gap is an example of deeply ingrained misogyny, since men in positions of power are frequently married to much younger women.
