Red Flags In Emmanuel & Brigitte Macron's Relationship We Can't Ignore

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Upon first glance, Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron's relationship seems to be chock-full of green flags. Although the French president undoubtedly has thousands of pressing matters to deal with every day, Emmanuel proudly told CNN in 2017 that his marriage remained a priority through it all. In fact, the politician asserted that he wouldn't be able to accomplish his professional goals without maintaining a healthy balance in his personal life with Brigitte, whom Emmanuel married in 2007. The Frenchman was also grateful that his wife never hesitated to be honest with him, further gushing, "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. That is my anchor." 

Meanwhile, in a 2017 interview with Elle, Brigitte clarified that her husband didn't need her to ground him because he was naturally a down-to-earth person. Additionally, she noted that Emmanuel's ongoing concern for her happiness amidst his demanding job wasn't surprising since he was a deeply empathetic person. The former teacher also argued that the spotlight didn't change the fact that they had a relatively normal relationship underneath it all, reasoning, "We're just like any other couple. We agree, we disagree. We argue, we stop arguing. It's very fluid. Everything matters and nothing matters." However, when we look past the couple's sweet words for each other and take a deeper dive into their relationship — and its questionable beginnings — it's impossible to ignore all the red flags in their long-standing union.

When Emmanuel Macron was 15, he began developing a romantic connection with then-39-year-old Brigitte Macron, a drama teacher at his high school, who was married with three children at the time. Speaking to Paris Match in 2016, she recalled how her future husband's performance in a school play had completely floored Brigitte and her colleagues. Eventually, Emmanuel asked his teacher to collaborate with him on a rewrite of a play. In her 2017 Elle interview, Brigitte admitted that she gradually started falling for her teenage charge, recalling, "We wrote together on Friday nights — and by Saturday, I couldn't wait for Friday to come around. I didn't understand why. It seemed insane." 

As Anne Fulda wrote in her 2017 biography, "Emmanuel Macron: A Perfect Young Man," Emmanuel's parents initially believed that the future president was seeing Brigitte's daughter, Laurence. They were naturally shocked when a family friend alerted them to the reality of the situation and, understandably, couldn't bring themselves to be supportive of the romance — especially at first. In fact, Emmanuel's mother confronted Brigitte, demanding, "Don't you see? You've had your life. But he won't have children with you."

But, when she requested that Brigitte stay away from her son until he was 18, Brigitte replied that she couldn't "promise anything." However, in her Paris Match chat, the former teacher shared that once she realized her true feelings for Emmanuel, she insisted that he move to Paris to complete his high school education there. The distance wasn't enough to break their bond; they stayed in touch through letters. And, when Emmanuel turned 17, he promised Brigitte that they would tie the knot someday.

In May 2025, the Internet witnessed one of the many strange things about Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron's marriage in real time. Before the political power couple with a massive age gap deboarded a plane in Hanoi, Vietnam, Brigitte aggressively shoved her husband in the face. Although the world leader seemed surprised, he kept his cool after noticing the cameras, quickly pivoting his attention to smile and wave. As the video started doing the rounds on the Internet, a lip reader added fuel to the fire in a chat with Express, where they analyzed the icy exchange that the couple purportedly had as they walked off the plane. 

After the expert pointed out how Brigitte seemingly refused to accept Emmanuel's arm before moving down the stairs, they said, "[Brigitte] appears to mutter, and lipread as 'Dégage, espèce de loser,' translated in English 'Stay away, you loser.'" Although the French president supposedly perseveres and says, "Let's try, please?," again in French, his wife declines and leaves him to apparently concede with: "I see." 

Bizarre moment Emmanuel Macron is slapped by his wife Brigitte pic.twitter.com/kYsE5MCDV1

— The Sun (@TheSun) May 26, 2025

Although Donald Trump's marriage to Melania is full of similarly strange details, he still eagerly joined in on the growing chatter. After the divisive politician stated that he had no doubt the couple's marriage wasn't in jeopardy, he offered a pearl of wisdom by quipping, "Make sure the door remains closed," (via USA Today). Later, an insider informed CNN that the clip wasn't any cause for concern, insisting, "It was a moment when the president and his wife were unwinding one last time before the trip began, playfully teasing each other." Likewise, Emmanuel later reiterated that they were just messing around.

The controversial way in which Emmanuel Macron met his wife, Brigitte Macron, had dire consequences for the three children that she shared with her then-husband, André-Louis Auzière. As covered in the 2018 documentary, "Brigitte Macron: A French Novel," the couple's daughter, Tiphaine Auzière detailed how her elder sister, Laurence Auzière-Jourdan, once complained about their future stepfather, who was her classmate at the time, "Mummy, there is a crazy boy in our class who knows everything about everything," (via The Times). Meanwhile, in her 2017 chat with Elle, Brigitte claimed once again that although she had feelings for Emmanuel when he was 15, their romantic connection didn't blossom until much later. 

However, that didn't stop the rumor mill in their small town from churning out gossip that posited the contrary to be true. Although the then-teacher paid no mind to everyone else's opinions at the time, Brigitte was still worried about how the stories would impact her young children. Additionally, she acknowledged that her separation from her husband gravely impacted them, noting, "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." 

As The Times reported, in Brigitte's Paris Match interview, she contended that her long courtship with Emmanuel was designed to protect her kids. "I took time so I would not wreck their lives," she proclaimed. "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." It's worth noting that Brigitte and her ex-husband's eldest child, Sébastien Auzière, is about two years older than his stepfather.

Speaking to RTL radio station, in 2019, Brigitte Macron conceded that her 25-year age difference with Emmanuel Macron made them an atypical couple. Further, the former educator wasn't afraid to admit that it also brought additional complications to the couple's long-standing union. However, Brigitte made it clear that she didn't like being labeled as a "cougar" because of their age gap, arguing, "What is this word, it doesn't describe anything!" She also pointed out, "I have always been attracted to men of my age. Except Emmanuel Macron, who was the exception," (via People). According to the BBC, Brigitte once subtly defended the dodgy beginnings of their romance by saying that the future president "had a relationship of equals with other adults." 

Meanwhile, during a chat with Le Parisien, Emmanuel claimed that the criticism of their relationship was chiefly rooted in misogyny. As Glamour noted, after arguing that people wouldn't question their romance as much if he were the older one, the French politician asserted, "It's because she is 20 years older than me that lots of people say, 'This relationship can't be tenable.'" Unfortunately for Emmanuel, his colleagues haven't shied away from taking pointed jabs at their age difference. After the president criticized his 2017 opponent Marine Le Pen for a remark she made at a debate, she clapped back at him by smirking and saying that she didn't need him to be her teacher. Given all this, it's unsurprising that Emmanuel expressed his gratitude to his three stepchildren for welcoming him into their family following their wedding, noting, "Thanks for accepting us, a not-quite-normal couple," (via Newsweek).

In Gaël Tchakaloff's 2021 book, "While We're Alone," she disclosed that Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron could hardly ever go more than an hour or two without speaking to each other. Although the biographer later explained to The Times that she was mostly speaking figuratively, Tchakaloff still argued that she wasn't too far off because the longtime spouses reached out to each other every time they had a free moment in their hectic schedules. Although that may seem sweet, there is an opposing side to the couple's attachment that makes it a bit of a red flag. 

Tchakaloff revealed one especially odd detail in her book in particular. "They have a shared schedule," she reported. "They know minute by minute what the other is doing. They are convinced that being a couple vastly enhances your individuality." The biographer raised even more red flags by positing that the French president became increasingly anxious when he couldn't speak to his wife. Their tight-knit relationship supposedly affected Emmanuel's professional life as well since the politician would alter decisions made in hours-long meetings after a chat with Brigitte. 

His staff obviously wasn't too pleased about his wife's influence over him and eventually started assuming that they needed to get their work greenlit by her rather than him. Other staff members tried using Brigitte's influence to their advantage, but they received varied results. As the BBC noted, in a Vanity Fair interview conducted before his appointment to the highest office in the land, Emmanuel openly discussed how his wife would be involved in his upcoming administration, saying, "If I am elected — no, sorry, when we are elected — she will be there, with a role and a place."