How old was Emmanuel Macron when he met his wife? Love story sparks controversy online in wake of latter's recent comments

Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron sparked controversy with her latest comments about their marriage. Brigitte, in an interview with the French weekly magazine, Paris Match, revealed that dating a boy of Macron's age was "crippling". She stated that her head was in a "mess" during the initial phase of the relationship.

Emmanuel Macron's marriage to Brigitte Macron has always been a magnet for controversy. The couple have an unconventional age gap of 24 years. Macron met Brigitte and fell in love with her when he was a 15-year-old high school student and she was his 39-year-old high school teacher.

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Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron's forbidden love

In a very rare interview with Paris Match Brigitte opened up about the anxiety that she faced during the initial stages of her relationship with the future French president and then-high school student, Emmanuel Macron.

Somewhere in the early 1990s, Emmanuel Macron, a then-15-year-old boy in the Amiens Catholic Providence school was classmates with a girl named Laurence Auzière. The girl's mother was Brigitte Auzière, a 39-year-old drama teacher at the same school.

Laurence's mom, Brigitte, a married woman with three children was estranged from her husband, André-Louis Auzière. Macron was immediately smitten, not with his classmate but with her mom. Romance blossomed between the two but was put to an abrupt halt when Macron's parents, who thought that their son was dating Brigitte's daughter, found out about the ordeal through a family friend.

Emmanuel Macron was sent off to a boarding school in Paris and Brigitte stopped teaching drama but continued tutoring in Latin and French. Brigitte Auzière, now Brigitte Macron revealed in the interview:

"My head was in a mess"

She added:

"For me, such a young boy was crippling. Emmanuel had to leave for Paris. I told myself that he would fall in love with someone his (own) age. It didn’t happen."

The duo had to wait a decade before getting married in 2007, as Brigitte was concerned as to how their relationship would affect her children. She was careful so that she would not "wreck their lives". She said:

"You can imagine what they were hearing. But I didn’t want to miss out on my life."

Brigitte, now 70 years old, was also extremely proud of her 45-year-old husband and gushed about how there was not a single day when Emmanuel Macron would not surprise her. She said:

"I have never seen such a memory ... such an intellectual capacity. I had many brilliant pupils and none had his capability. I have always admired him."

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Netizens call Brigitte Macron a "p*dophile"

Brigitte Macron's comments caused quite a stir online. Her and Emmanual Macron's age gap and the ages at which they began dating have always been a little too hard for a lot of people to swallow. The same rhetoric continued when people got to know about Brigitte's latest comments.

People did not take a liking to Brigitte at all. They immediately called her a pedophile and a predator. Some asked the question as to why she was not in prison, although the age of consent in France is 15. Here are a few reactions to Brigitte Macron's comments:

Netizens condemned the couple's marriage (Image via X/@nypost) Netizens condemned the couple's marriage (Image via X/@nypost)

In other news, Brigitte's first husband, André-Louis Auzière passed away quietly in the December of 2019 at the age of 69. The former banker had never given a single interview to any publication. The former couple shared three children, Tiphaine, Sébastien, and Laurence. Sébastien and Laurence are older than her husband.