Everything to Know About Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron's Relationship After the Viral Slap Incident

Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron's love story began in the 1990s.

They met at Lycée La Providence, a private Catholic school in France, where the then-15-year-old Emmanuel was a student. Brigitte, who was 39 years old at the time, was working as a drama teacher.

Emmanuel's parents initially thought he was dating Brigitte's daughter Laurence. However, they later discovered the truth, leading them to send him to a boarding school.

"My mother, who would never have tolerated such a situation for her own children, showed herself to be much more open and tolerant with regard to her grandchildren's love affairs," Emmanuel's mother, Francoise Nogues-Macron, said of the president's maternal grandmother.

The two kept in touch in the years that followed, though they had to wait a decade before exchanging vows.

A decade after Emmanuel and Brigitte's affair began, the former teacher finalized her divorce from her first husband, André-Louis Auzière, in 2006.

André-Louis, with whom Brigitte had three children, died in 2019.

Emmanuel and Brigitte exchanged vows at city hall in Le Touquet in 2007, a year after her divorce from André-Louis.

"Each and every one of you is a witness to these last 13 years," Emmanuel told their guests. "And you have accepted us. You have made us what we are today … I want to thank you for loving us the way we are, and I want to thank Brigitte's children because this has not been easy for them."

Following the wedding, Brigitte quit her job to support Emmanuel and his political endeavors. She then worked as his main consultant when he became Finance Minister in 2014, during François Hollande's presidency.

In 2017, Emmanuel was elected the President of France and became the country's youngest leader at the age of 39.

Speaking in an interview with CNN, the French president said his wife is his "anchor" who "tells the truth every day."

"Access to truth is one of the main challenges. Somebody with her deep convictions and knowing you for what you are and loving you for what you are — not for what you represent or your role or your honors … That is very important to me," Emmanuel continued.

Months after starting his term as president, Emmanuel said "love" is part of his "life and balance."

"I do believe that you don't build something great and you don't behave properly if you're not balanced and a strong couple. I've been with my wife for decades now and she's part of me," he told CNN, speaking fondly about Brigitte.

Despite doubts and obstacles, Brigitte eventually realized she wanted to pursue what made her happy.

"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. There are times in your life when you make critical choices. And for me, this was one of those times," she told Elle in a December 2017 interview.

Brigitte also shared how keeping her husband by her side "comforts" her, adding, "I wouldn't want to speak for him, but I'm pretty sure he feels the same way. We're just like any other couple. We agree, we disagree. We argue, we stop arguing. It's very fluid."

In an interview with Paris Match, Brigitte revealed why she waited for a decade before marrying Emmanuel.

"The only obstacle was my children," said Brigitte, as translated by The Times. "I took time so I would not wreck their lives. That lasted 10 years, the time to put them on the rails. You can imagine what they were hearing. But I didn't want to miss out on my life."

After Emmanuel was sent to Paris by his parents following the discovery of their relationship, Brigitte reportedly told herself, "He would fall in love with someone his age."

"It didn't happen. I do not know how my parents, who were the model of fidelity and good education, would have reacted to our marriage," she continued.

In May, The Associated Press shared a video of Emmanuel and Brigitte arriving in Hanoi, Vietnam, in which the First Lady appeared to push her husband in the face. After noticing the door was already open, the French leader smiled and waved before exiting the presidential plane.

After the incident made headlines, Emmanuel denied any "domestic scene" and clarified they were only teasing each other.

"We are bickering and joking with my wife and a video becomes a sort of geoplanetary catastrophe," he told reporters. "In the world we live in, we don't have a lot of time to lose…"