How the world reacted to Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau's separation
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau talk prior to the beginning of a welcoming ceremony during the G7 Summit, Friday, June 8, 2018, in Charlevoix, Canada. The couple announced they would be separating on Wednesday. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)Headlines in Canada were filled with news of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau's separation on Wednesday — but the news quickly received international attention as well.Experts say that Trudeau's international profile likely contributed to the news garnering global interest."Sophie and I would like to share the fact that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate," Trudeau wrote in a message posted to his Instagram account on Wednesday. The statement rapidly made it into international news stories.Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau announce separationA timeline of the Trudeaus' personal and political momentsU.S. national newspapers, such a
Headlines in Canada were filled with news of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau's separation on Wednesday — but the news quickly received international attention as well.
Experts say that Trudeau's international profile likely contributed to the news garnering global interest.
"Sophie and I would like to share the fact that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate," Trudeau wrote in a message posted to his Instagram account on Wednesday. The statement rapidly made it into international news stories.
U.S. national newspapers, such as the New York Times and Washington Post reported on the former couple's separation, as did a number of American broadcasters — including CNN, CBS and NBC — on their websites.
The separation was People Magazine's top story on its website on Wednesday afternoon. The news also made it onto American tabloid TMZ's website.
Jennifer Stewart, CEO of the communications firm Syntax Strategic, told CBC News Network that the separation might attract more eyes globally than it does in Canada.
"This is not Canadian news. This is international news. Trudeau has a celebrity factor and so does Sophie," Stewart told host Dianne Buckner.
"People care about his personal life, and I would argue people care more internationally than they do in Canada about his personal life," she said.
In the U.K. — where the two recently travelled for King Charles' coronation — the news of the separation made the BBC's main page. British newspapers, such as the Guardian and the Daily Mail also reported the news.
Trudeau similarly caught the attention of British tabloids during the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, when he and members of the Canadian delegation sang U.K. rock band Queen's hit Bohemian Rhapsody in the lobby of a hotel.
Shortly after Trudeau was first elected prime minister in 2015, he and Grégoire Trudeau gained international attention by appearing in Vogue Magazine. That was followed up by another Vogue article in 2017, which offered a "look back at their long love affair."
"It has the sort of feeling of a Hollywood breakup," the president of Enterprise Canada and conservative strategist Jason Lietaer told Buckner on CBC News Network.
"The stakes are really high for both the prime minister and the country. He has been prime minister for a long time now. We know him, we know his family," he said. "My first reaction to this was, 'Man, I hope those kids are going to be ok.'"
The former couple's separation also made headlines in France, Ireland, India, and the United Arab Emirates.
Jonathan Malloy, a professor of political science at Carleton University, told CBC News that there has been international attention on Trudeau's personal life ever since he became prime minister.
"Trudeau has always attracted an unusual amount of personal international attention for a Canadian prime minister," Malloy said in a statement. "It is unsurprising that international media attention has followed this unfortunate and private development in a Trudeau family relationship."
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