Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, aged 51, has announced that his children will stay with him after his separation from his wife, Sophie, who has already relocated. The announcement came today from both Justin and Sophie.
The news of the separation was posted on Instagram by Trudeau in dual language posts in English and French. An official statement was also released from his office, confirming that a legal agreement had been reached. The statement also shared that the couple would remain friendly, planning a vacation together with their three children soon.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau has moved to a different home in Ottawa, leaving the family residence.
According to Canada’s Globe and Mail, the couple will have shared custody of their children.
Trudeau will stay at Rideau Cottage with the children, and Sophie has settled into another property in Ottawa. She plans to visit Rideau Cottage regularly to be with the children and will reside there when Trudeau is away.
Trudeau’s Instagram post said: “Hi everyone, Sophie and I have decided to separate after many significant and challenging conversations. We continue to be a tight-knit family with profound love and respect for each other and all we have created and will keep creating. Please respect our and our children’s privacy.”
Married since 2005, the couple shares three children, with the youngest being nine. Sophie was a childhood friend of Trudeau’s brother Michel, who died at the age of 23 in an avalanche.
The two started dating in 2003 after reconnecting as adults and became engaged shortly after.
This is the first marriage for Trudeau, and the separation marks the first for a sitting Canadian prime minister since his own parents’ separation in 1977.
Rumors and speculation about their marriage and separation have been rampant, including an unfounded claim that Trudeau was the lovechild of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. This was something his office had to deny in 2018.
In his memoir, Trudeau described the pain of having divorced parents, explaining that it left him with “a sense of diminished self-worth.”
