French President Emmanuel Macron rejected any military solution to the North Korean crisis Tuesday in an exclusive interview Tuesday with CNN. But he also talked about love.
In response to a question from CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, the still-new leader of France opened up a little about his unconventional union with Brigitte Macron, a woman 24 years his senior..
“The world is actually obsessed right now with your marriage,” Amanpour told him. “Tell us about it.”
“It’s always hard to speak about that,” Macron answered. “It’s part of intimacy. Love is part of my life and my balance. I do believe that you don’t build something great and you don’t behave properly if you’re not balanced and a strong couple. I’ve been with my wife for decades now and she’s part of me.”
The Macrons first met when the future president was a high school student. Brigitte Trogneux was his teacher, and Macron took part in a school play that she directed.
She divorced her husband in 2006 and married Macron a year later. He’s now 39; she’s 64.
Although that makes their relationship unique and has garnered them a lot of attention – not all of it kind – Macron seems grounded about it all.
“For me, it’s very important for my personal balance to have somebody at home telling you the truth every day,” he told Amanpour.
He continued, “Access to truth is one of the main challenges. Somebody with her deep convictions and knowing you for what you are and loving you for what you are – not for what you represent or your role or your honors … That is very important to me. That is my anchor.”