Justin Trudeau and Wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau Separating After 18 Years of Marriage

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau arrive at Westminster Abbey prior to the coronation ceremony of Britain's King Charles III in London on May 6, 2023. AP Photo/Kin Cheung

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, have announced they are separating after being married for 18 years.

The former couple made the announcement in Instagram posts on Aug. 2.

“Sophie and I would like to share the fact that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate,” they wrote.

“For the well-being of our children, we ask that you respect our and their privacy.”

Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Grégoire Trudeau have three children between the ages of 9 and 15. The Globe and Mail reports that the two are expected to co-parent their children, with Mr. Trudeau continuing to reside at Rideau Cottage, where the children will primarily live to maintain stability, while Ms. Grégoire Trudeau has secured a separate home in Ottawa.

Message posted by Justin Trudeau on his Instagram account on Aug. 2, 2023. Screenshot

The Prime Minister’s Office released a separate statement saying the two have “worked to ensure that all legal and ethical steps with regards to their decision to separate have been taken, and will continue to do so moving forward,” reported the Globe. “Both parents will be a constant presence in their children’s lives and Canadians can expect to often see the family together.”

Ms. Grégoire Trudeau, 48, had been less visible around the prime minister in recent years, rarely travelling abroad with him. However, the two were seen together at Canada Day events last month. They also attended the King’s coronation in London in May.

The two, who have known each other since childhood, married at a ceremony in Montreal in 2005.

U.S. President Joe Biden (L) talks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 24, 2023, as Sophie Gregoire Trudeau (R) looks on. Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool

Mr. Trudeau, 51, has previously opened up about “ups and downs” in the marriage.

“Our marriage isn’t perfect, and we have had difficult ups and downs, yet Sophie remains my best friend, my partner, my love,” he wrote in his 2014 memoir “Common Ground.” “We are honest with each other, even when it hurts.”

Ms. Grégoire Trudeau, a former television host, also shared about her married life in May last year around their wedding anniversary, saying, “You all know I keep things honest: long-term relationships are challenging in so many ways.”

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie greet supporters during a rally in Brampton, Ont., on October 4, 2015. The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson

“Together for 19 years, married for 17, we have navigated through sunny days, heavy storms, and everything in between and it ain’t over,” she wrote on Instagram in May 2022.

“None of us are perfect and so there is no perfect relationship, but love is only true when it keeps you safe, sets you free, and makes you grow.”

The prime minister’s parents, Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his wife Margaret, also separated while the senior Mr. Trudeau was in office as prime minister, in 1977. They later divorced in 1984.

The Canadian Press and Reuters contributed to this report.