Macron and Trump are rekindling their bromance in their talks about Ukraine, and it’s all over the media.

Macron and his wife, for their part, have a romance that has endured (and still endures) a 24-year gap.

It’s the perfect time to revisit Macron’s love life, in his attention-calling marriage to Brigitte Macron.

Who Is the Wife of Macron

The wife of Macron is Brigitte Macron, his former teacher. In other words, the wife of Macron, is the “First Lady” of France. These days, she prances around the Élysée Palace, using one part of her mouth to enjoy the finest selection of pâtisseries, and the other part to trickle some well-founded advice into Macron’s ears. But her life wasn’t always so glamorous.

She is the daughter of Simone and Jean Trogneux, the owners of the five-generation Chocolaterie Trogneux. Brigitte has had an extensive career as a teacher from 1980 to 2015. In the 90s, she was teaching French and Latin at Lycée la Providence—exactly where her acquaintance with Macron began. 

However, the two didn’t start a romance right away. Rather, their lives diverged, and she was married to André-Louis Auzière, a banker, with whom she had three children. Brigitte later divorced him and chose to continue her future with Macron. So far, the story sounds like a tale of star-crossed lovers finally reunited, right? In reality, it’s far from your typical rom-com. 

Macron himself has described it as “a love often clandestine, often hidden, misunderstood by many before imposing itself.” So buckle up—this story is about to get wild.

How Did Macron Meet His Wife

Brigitte met Macron at Lycée la Providence, when he was a student and she was a teacher. They first got acquainted through the after-school drama club. For the French, such a revelation sparked outrage, and it was no different for the now-president’s parents at the time. 

They originally thought he was seeing Brigitte’s daughter, but when they found out he had feelings for the teacher, they told him to pack up—pronto! They quickly shipped him off to a boarding school in Paris. 

“Emmanuel had to leave for Paris,” she told Paris Match. “I told myself that he would fall in love with someone his [own] age. It didn’t happen.”

The two kept in touch. Brigitte was married and had her three children (who were around Emmanuel’s age), and Emmanuel had college to tend to. She didn’t follow her heart straight away. Choosing to take care of her children first, she then allowed the inevitable romance to blossom. 

“I know that I have hurt my children, and that is the thing I reproach myself for the most. But I couldn’t not do it,” she told Elle in December 2017. “There are times in your life when you make critical choices. And for me, this was one of those times.”

How Old Was Macron When He Met His Wife

It’s not uncommon for boys to swoon after their teachers, but 15-year-old Macron’s infatuation with 39-year-old Brigitte was probably not the prepubescent puppy love you were expecting. That’s right, Macron and his wife have a whopping 24-year age gap!

Back then, Brigitte had never thought of having a relationship with her student. After all, she had already been married for 3 years when Macron was born in 1977. “For me, such a young boy was crippling,” she affirmed.

After she divorced her now ex-husband, and both made amends with Brigitte’s kids, the two tied the knot in 2007. And while they might have appeased their relatives, the rest of France—and the World—was still shocked.

Disturbed by the age gap (and how obvious it is), people started accusing Brigitte of being a “cougar” and subjecting her to “Transvestigations”. Apparently, false rumors that Brigitte Macron is transgender have been circulating the internet for years. Some of them earned the Lady’s attention and, promptly, lawsuits. 

Most recently, Candace Owens has done a compilation of these theories. Brigitte has denied all these conspiracies, and to address the cougar title, she insisted, “What is this word, it doesn't describe anything! I have always been attracted to men of my age. Except Emmanuel Macron, who was the exception.”

Like it or not, the Macrons have been going strong, at almost two decades of marriage and counting. What’s next for one of France’s most unconventional couples?