‘I told myself he would fall in love with someone his own age’: French First Lady Brigitte Macron reveals how she postponed marrying Emmanuel to avoid ‘destroying’ her children’s lives

French First Lady Brigitte Macron has revealed how she postponed marrying Emmanuel to avoid ‘destroying’ her children’s lives.

In a rare personal interview, the 70-year-old said Paris competition magazine that she has postponed marriage to her husband, French President Emmanuel Macron, 45, for a decade for the sake of her three children, who are about the same age as her younger partner.

Macron was 15 when he fell in love with the then married Brigitte Auzière, 25 years his senior. She was his drama teacher at Providence Catholic school in Amiens, northern France, and her daughter, Laurence, was Macron’s classmate.

Their romance blossomed and caused a scandal in the province. Macron’s parents then sent him to Paris to attend another school, but his desire to be with his teacher and pursue her persisted.

She said she told herself that once Emmanuel was in Paris, “fall in love with someone of his [own] age’, but that didn’t happen.

Footage captures the moment a 15-year-old Emmanuel Macron (left) kissed his 40-year-old teacher Brigitte Trogneux (right) in 1993 – two years before he declared he wanted to marry her

Macron was 15 when he fell in love with the married Brigitte Auzière, 25 years his senior

She was his drama teacher at Providence Catholic school in Amiens, northern France, and her daughter, Laurence, was Macron’s classmate

Brigitte gave up her job but said the “only obstacles” were her children because she “didn’t want to ruin their lives.”

‘That took ten years, the time to get them on track. You can imagine what they heard. But I didn’t want to miss my life,” she said.

Her son is three years older than Macron and her daughters, now aged 46 and 39, are the same age as her second husband.

She also added that she does not know what her parents would have said about her marriage to her former student, but noted that her siblings sometimes joked about the gossip surrounding her and Macron’s relationship.

She eventually married Macron – a civil servant in his late 20s – in 2007 after divorcing her estranged husband André-Louis Auzière the year before.

The First Lady gave some more insight into the Macrons’ married life, about which she usually remains tight-lipped, apart from mentioning the difficulties in the early years of their relationship.

Despite being married for 16 years, Brigitte says her husband still manages to surprise and amaze her with his impressive memory and intelligence.

‘I had many brilliant students and none had his abilities. I always admired him,” she explained.

The couple enjoy a quiet life together at the Élysée Palace once the president arrives home around 10 and 11 p.m., with Brigitte cooking breakfast and sometimes dinner for him.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron attend a drinks reception for Queen Elizabeth II and the G7 leaders at The Eden Project during the G7 Summit on June 11, 2021 in St Austell, Cornwall

Despite being married for 16 years, Brigitte (left) says her husband (right) still surprises and amazes her with his impressive memory and intelligence

Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Trogneux kiss to celebrate after the first round of the presidential elections in Paris in 2017

While her husband focuses on political matters all day, the French First Lady provides adult education for charity and focuses on good causes.

She is used to the criticism that now comes to public office and accepts comments about things such as her clothing on her chin.

In her role she meets many foreign leaders, and in her recent interview she praised the King and Queen, who visited Paris in September.

Brigitte admits she was initially concerned, but these worries were quelled when Camilla greeted her with a kiss on the cheek, “which set the tone.” She also praised Charles’s sense of humor.

‘When the royal couple came, I was worried. But from their arrival at the Arc de Triomphe, when Camilla got out of the car and kissed me, they set the tone,” she said. ‘[Charles] is very polished, very cultured, very funny. What sums them up is their delicacy.’

She told how the king and queen met her and Macron for a private aperitif at the Élysée Palace “because neither of them do much.”

‘There were only four of us. A wonderful moment. There they were: Charles and Camilla. The next day they left for Bordeaux.’