Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, have announced they are separating after being married for 18 years.
“Sophie and I would like to share the fact that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate,” they wrote.
“For the well-being of our children, we ask that you respect our and their privacy.”
Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Grégoire Trudeau have three children between the ages of 9 and 15. The Globe and Mail reports that the two are expected to co-parent their children, with Mr. Trudeau continuing to reside at Rideau Cottage, where the children will primarily live to maintain stability, while Ms. Grégoire Trudeau has secured a separate home in Ottawa.
Ms. Grégoire Trudeau, 48, had been less visible around the prime minister in recent years, rarely travelling abroad with him. However, the two were seen together at Canada Day events last month. They also attended the King’s coronation in London in May.
The two, who have known each other since childhood, married at a ceremony in Montreal in 2005.
Mr. Trudeau, 51, has previously opened up about “ups and downs” in the marriage.
“Our marriage isn’t perfect, and we have had difficult ups and downs, yet Sophie remains my best friend, my partner, my love,” he wrote in his 2014 memoir “Common Ground.” “We are honest with each other, even when it hurts.”
Ms. Grégoire Trudeau, a former television host, also shared about her married life in May last year around their wedding anniversary, saying, “You all know I keep things honest: long-term relationships are challenging in so many ways.”
“None of us are perfect and so there is no perfect relationship, but love is only true when it keeps you safe, sets you free, and makes you grow.”
The prime minister’s parents, Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his wife Margaret, also separated while the senior Mr. Trudeau was in office as prime minister, in 1977. They later divorced in 1984.
