On Monday morning, a video went viral showing Brigitte Macron appearing to aggressively push her husband, French President Emmanuel Macron, in the face during their arrival in Vietnam. The moment drew renewed attention to their controversial relationship.
Emmanuel Macron was just 15 years old in 1993 when he met Brigitte Auzière, a 39-year-old teacher at the Catholic school Lycée La Providence in Amiens. At the time, she was also the mother of one of his classmates, Laurence.
Macron was known for being unusually mature for his age and often chose to spend time talking with teachers instead of his peers.
At the time Emmanuel Macron met Brigitte, she was married to banker André-Louis Auzière and had three children. Her growing connection with the teenage Macron reportedly came as a shock to her husband, and their divorce took nearly ten years to finalize.
During that period, Emmanuel left Amiens to attend a prestigious high school in Paris, but the distance didn’t weaken their bond. Brigitte later admitted she thought he would eventually fall for someone his own age—but he didn’t, per the New York Post.
Macron continued his education in politics and international affairs, often traveling to see Brigitte on weekends. A university friend recalled him rushing to catch the train every Friday after Spanish class to visit her.
The couple officially married in 2007 after Brigitte’s divorce was finalized. He was 29, and she was 54.
A viral two-second clip showing Brigitte Macron appearing to slap or shove her husband, French President Emmanuel Macron, in the face has sparked global controversy and renewed speculation about their relationship.
The footage, filmed Sunday night at Hanoi’s international airport after their arrival in Vietnam, shows Macron recoiling in surprise before quickly recovering and waving to the cameras. The moment quickly gained traction online, with some calling Brigitte a “husband-beater” on social media as reported by Daily Mail.
The incident has reignited long-standing curiosity and rumors surrounding their unconventional marriage. Brigitte is 25 years older than Macron, and their relationship has often drawn public fascination since he became France’s youngest president in 2017.
Now, many are asking whether this was just a tense moment after a long flight—or a sign of deeper issues within their marriage.
Footage of the tense moment between French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte quickly went viral, with many noting that Macron appeared visibly upset afterward. Adding to the buzz, Brigitte, 72, didn’t take her 47-year-old husband’s arm as they walked down the stairs of the plane in Vietnam.
While members of Macron’s team dismissed the incident as a “moment of togetherness” or a harmless argument, it reignited public interest in their often-scrutinized relationship.
The Macrons’ marriage has long been the subject of gossip. In 2018, Macron firmly denied rumors of an affair with his former bodyguard Alexandre Benalla during a meeting with aides, joking that Benalla never had access to nuclear codes or was his lover per Daily Mail.
There were also persistent but unproven claims about Macron and former Radio France chairman Mathieu Gallet. Though no evidence surfaced, Macron addressed the rumors in an interview, calling them sexist and homophobic. He added that if he were gay, he would openly say so.
The recent airport incident has only added to the ongoing speculation surrounding the president’s personal life and his unconventional marriage.
