The Unusual love story of French presidential front-runner and wife who is his former teacher and 25 years older

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SOURCE: THE MIRROR

URL: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/unusual-love-story-french-presidential-10284722

by CHRIS KITCHING


If Emmanuel Macron defeats far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in May's showdown for the French presidency, the country will have perhaps its most unexpected first lady ever.

Macron's wife, Brigitte Trogneux, was his drama teacher in high school and is 25 years his senior. He's 39, she's 64.

The front-runner was just 16 when he vowed to marry Trogneux - a married mum-of-three at the time - and his parents even tried to put a stop to the schoolboy love affair, according to a new book.

The unusual love story has captivated French tabloids and magazines, and emerged as a major storyline during Macron's rapid rise towards the Elysee Palace, with both husband and wife hitting back at critics.

Throughout the campaign Macron, an independent centrist, and Trogneux have been photographed embracing and kissing, including during Sunday night's celebration after he advanced to the May 7 run-off election against Le Pen .

Macron, who quit the Socialist Party to run for president and founded the party En Marche! in April last year, has repeatedly paid tribute to his wife and told his supporters she would play a major role as France's first lady if he's elected.

The May-December romance blossomed as Trogneux taught Macron when he was a 15-year-old student at a Jesuit college in Amiens.

A new book says he defied orders from his parents to end the romance and his father ordered Trogneux to stay away from his son until he reached 18.

A tearful Trogneux, then known as Brigitte Auziere (her married name), replied: "I cannot promise you anything."

Last year she told a French documentary that he wasn't like the other teenagers in her classes, BBC News reported.







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More factoids:

Macron's wife, Brigitte has 3 adult children and 7 grandchildren ( by her first marriage ). Her eldest child is 2 years older than her husband, while her second child was the former classmate of her husband and is the same age as him.