The scandalous romance between Macron, 15, and 40-year-old future wife
Many argue that the fixation with the age gap between French President Emmanuel Macron, 46, and his 71-year-old wife, Brigitte, is an indication of profoundly ingrained misogyny, as men in positions of authority often wed much younger women. But if much attention can be paid to Netflix's drama May December — loosely based on Seattle school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, who began a relationship with then-12-year-old student Vili Fualaau, Macron and his wife's relationship is also worth talking about.
Macron and his wife's daughter were classmates
When the couple first met at the Catholic Providence school in Amiens, the future president was just 15 years old, while Brigitte was 40 and married with three children. In fact, her daughter, Laurence, was Macron's classmate. "My head was in a mess," Brigitte said during a rare interview last year. A biography of Macron, Emmanuel Macron: A Perfect Young Man, reveals the shock his parents experienced when they discovered their 16-year-old son was having an affair with his teacher.
Parents' reaction to Macron's unconventional relationship
As soon as Macron's parents learned of the affair, they removed the intellectually gifted teenager from the school. But "what mattered to me was not the fact he was having a relationship with Brigitte but that he was alive and there weren't any problems," Macron's mother said. When it became clear that the affair wasn't fleeting, she reportedly told Brigitte, "Don't you see? You've had your life. But he won't have children with you."
Macron's father expresses disbelief, grandmother shows understanding
Jean-Michel Macron, Emmanuel's father, also expressed his disbelief at the situation, "When Emmanuel met Brigitte, we certainly did not say, 'How wonderful!" The parents met with Brigitte and asked her to stop seeing their son until he reached adulthood. However, she could not "promise anything." When they co-wrote a play, the pair only grew closer. Brigitte told a friend years later, "You know, the day we wrote the play together, I had the impression I was working with Mozart."
Macron's move to Paris and subsequent marriage
The feelings appeared to be mutual, as the romantic Macron swore to marry her when he was 17, promising to come back and find her after he was sent to the prestigious Lycee Henri IV in Paris for his final year of studies. The couple eventually married in Brigitte's hometown of Le Touquet in October 2007. She was 54, her groom was 29 years old. At their wedding reception, he thanked her three adult children for accepting their "not-quite-normal couple."
Affairs of past presidents
The story, while scandalous, is actually fairly modest compared to the romances of former presidents. Former French President François Hollande was found visiting an 18-year-old actress's residence while with an official partner. Similarly, François Mitterrand had a 30-year relationship with his mistress and had a child with her that he kept a secret for many years. Charles de Gaulle was also believed to have cheated on his wife during World War II.
