It's Splitsville for the Trudeaus

Canada's first couple say decision to separate followed 'meaningful and difficult conversations'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 2, 2023 12:11 PM CDT
It's Splitsville for the Trudeaus
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Friday, July 21, 2023, at United Nations headquarters.   (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau are calling it quits after 18 years of marriage. In identical statements posted on their social media accounts, the couple said they had "made the decision to separate" after "many meaningful and difficult conversations," CTV News reports. "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 messages said. "For the well-being of our children, we ask that you respect our and their privacy." The Trudeaus, who were married in 2005, have three children: 14-year-old daughter Ella-Grace, and sons Xavier, 15, and Hadrien, nine.

In a statement, the prime minister's office said a legal separation agreement had been signed, the CBC reports. "Sophie and the Prime Minister are focused on raising their kids in a safe, loving and collaborative environment," the statement said. "Both parents will be a constant presence in their children's lives and Canadians can expect to often see the family together. The family will be together on vacation, beginning next week." Trudeau has been prime minister since 2015. The first Canadian prime minister to get divorced while in office was his father, Pierre Trudeau, who was in office from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. The then-57-year-old separated from wife Margaret, 28, in 1977; they finally divorced in 1984. (More Justin Trudeau stories.)

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