Sam Amico
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is separating from wife Sophie after 18 years together, he announced.
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The stunning news came in an Instagram post, with Trudeau saying “after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate.”
He added: “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.”
Justin Trudeau, 51, and Sophie Trudeau, 48, married in 2005 and have three children together — Xavier, Ella-Grace and Hadrien. Sophie is a former television reporter on eTalk, CTV’s entertainment news program. She has since retired.
The couple has signed a legal separation agreement, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
“They have worked to ensure that all legal and ethical steps with regards to their decision to separate have been taken, and will continue to do so moving forward,” the statement read.
That said, the family will be vacationing together next week, the prime minister’s office added.
Justin and Sophie Trudeau actually met early in life when growing up in Montreal — as Sophie was a childhood friend of Justin’s younger brother. They reconnected in 2003 at a charity event, then got engaged a year later.
Justin Trudeau was officially sworn in as the Prime Minister of Canada on November 4, 2015
