The relationship between French President-Elect Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Trogneux has captivated the world.
There is nothing cliche about their story, which began when a 15-year-old Macron took part in a school play directed by Trogneux, 24 years his senior.
Trogneux went from being Macron's teacher to his partner, and eventually his wife. But through each phase, she has been his mentor and inspiration. "Without her, I wouldn't be me," Macron, 39, declared after winning the first round of voting in April.
Trogneaux -- now 64 with seven grandchildren -- will become France's next first lady. Unlike in the United States, the spouses of French leaders have traditionally held more negligible roles in public affairs. But there is nothing traditional about Trogneaux, nor her presidential muse. Macron has said that if he is elected, he will likely give his wife an official role in his administration.
Trogneux was born to a bourgeoisie family of chocolatiers, the youngest of six children. Like Macron, her hometown is Amiens in northern France.
Before she met Macron, she was on the path to living a relatively conventional life. She had a stable career teaching French literature, Latin and drama, and married a banker, Andre Louis Auziere, with whom she had three children.
"Love took everything in its path and led me to divorce. It was impossible to resist him," Trogneux told Paris Match magazine in 2016. She divorced Auziere in 2006 and married Macron a year later, moving to Paris to work as a teacher. Read more at CNN.
Emmanuel Macron sensationally won the French presidential election in a landslide victory – a little more than a year after launching his own political movement.
Standing by his side is his 64-year-old wife, Brigitte Trogneux – but who is she, and what’s their story? Here’s what you need to know shared by The Sun.