After 18 years of marriage, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced this week that he and his wife, Sophie Gregoire, “have made the decision to separate.”
While his social media statement on Wednesday did not cite a cause for the rift, he indicated that the decision came “after many meaningful and difficult conversations.”
Trudeau, who has three children with his estranged wife, requested privacy for the “well-being” of their family.
“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,” the prime minister added.
His office followed up with a subsequent message confirming that the Trudeaus “have signed a legal separation agreement” and “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.”
Insisting that they will “remain a close family,” the statement added that “Sophie and the Prime Minister are focused on raising their kids in a safe, loving and collaborative environment” with both parents planning to remain “a constant presence” in the lives of their children.
“Canadians can expect to often see the family together,” Trudeau’s office concluded.
The couple married in 2005, at which time Trudeau recalled reconnecting with his new bride, who had been a friend of his youngest brother before he died in 1998.
“We laughed, we joked, and there was a definite chemistry between us,” he said at the time.
The prime minister showered his wife with praise on social media in recent months. In celebration of her birthday in April, he posted a pair of photos, adding: “From this, to this, and everything in between, there’s no one I’d rather have by my side.”
Trudeau has faced a number of scandals throughout his eight years as prime minister, including photos that resurfaced from 2001 showing him in blackface, a controversial response to pandemic-related trucker protests, and lavish family trips he took since entering office.
Canadian flags have been replaced by pride flags on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office. pic.twitter.com/UsVCsmFpmW
— Dacey Media (@chrisdacey) June 1, 2023
Most recently, he has gone all in on the LGBT agenda, even replacing the national flag with the “pride” flag outside of his office.
