melbourne, australia
AP
—
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese married his partner Jodie Haydon on Saturday in a secret and intimate ceremony at his official residence in the capital, Canberra.
Prime Minister Albanese is the first prime minister in the 124-year history of the Australian federal government to marry while in office.
The couple were married by a private celebrant in an afternoon ceremony in the grounds of The Lodge in front of about 60 guests, including several ministers. The media did not report this event until it happened.
“We are so happy to be able to share our love and commitment to spend the rest of our lives together in front of our family and close friends,” the couple said in a statement.
They wrote their own vows, and the ring bearer was their dog, Toto. Haydon’s 5-year-old niece Ella was the flower girl, the statement said.
Mr Albanese, 62, a divorcee with a grown son, proposed to Mr Haydon, 46, at The Lodge on Valentine’s Day last year. The couple had originally planned a large wedding before the last election, which was scheduled for May this year. Mr Albanese told a Sydney radio show that he was considering inviting former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he considered a personal friend.
But strategists in the ruling center-left Labor Party feared that a lavish wedding amid a cost-of-living crisis could damage the government’s chances of being re-elected for a second or third term.
It was decided to postpone the wedding until after the election. Albanese said the wedding would take place in 2025, but did not specify a date.
The wedding took place two days after this year’s legislative session ended on Thursday.
Mr Haydon, who works in finance, met Mr Albanese at a business dinner in Melbourne in 2020.
