Justin Trudeau And Sophie Grégoire Trudeau Were Almost A Missed Connection

Looking back at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and ex-wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau's relationship history is a bit sad, considering that the pair split in 2023 after 18 years of marriage. However, their partnership and subsequent divorce almost weren't. Had fate not kept throwing them together, Trudeau and Grégoire Trudeau likely wouldn't have been more than childhood friends.

In 2005, the former television host revealed to Maclean's that she met the future Prime Minister of Canada as a child while playing at his family home. Early on, Sophie had a crush on Justin, even admitting, "We would hide in the closets to have our first kiss." Their journeys took them down separate paths, as is apt to happen to young lovers, until they crossed paths once again at the 2003 Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix ball.

As co-hosts of the charity fundraiser, it was inevitable the two would talk; and apparently, the mature versions of Justin and Sophie liked each other just as much as their younger selves. Sophie decided she would reach out after their impromptu reconnection, sending Justin an email. It apparently created a bit of a personal dilemma for Justin, as he said, "I got the email, and I said, 'Nice. Okay. Good.' And I didn't answer it. I didn't delete it. I just decided, 'No, I'm better off not starting anything that I'm not willing to go through with.'"

With the wind knocked out of her sails, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau essentially moved on. She told Maclean's, "I was kind of like, 'Okay, he has no class.' I mean, yes, I did think Justin was cute; but the email was really just a note from one professional to another." But fate would throw them together again in a chance meeting on the street a few months later. Now, it was Sophie's turn to swipe left, telling Justin Trudeau (who chased her down as she waved and walked by) that if he'd held onto her previous email he should have no problem getting ahold of her. We don't know how long it took the Prime Minister of Canada to dig through his inbox but he emailed Sophie that night. Soon, they would be cuddled up in a private karaoke booth serenading one another with songs by the Beatles.

Sophie noted to Vogue that though she may have been guilty of playing hard to get, ultimately, she is "a dreamer and a romantic, and at the end of dinner, he said, 'I'm 31 years old, and I've been waiting for you for 31 years.' And we both cried like babies." After returning to Justin's home, the once serial social dater claims he had a vision of him and Sophie together forever, so he "announced to her that we would be spending the rest of our lives together."

The star couple of Canada, Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, shockingly announced they were calling it quits in August 2023. While they didn't quite make it to the rest of their lives as a married couple as Justin had envisioned, the duo did spend 18 years together. They have also left their indelible mark on the world; we know the many published sweet images of the couple will certainly live on for a long time.

Plus, Justin and Sophie will never truly be rid of one another, because they share three children: Xavier, Ella-Grace, and Hadrien. Now, the former model and Prime Minister will have to navigate co-parenting, something that will undoubtedly keep them in contact with one another. Their situation harkens back to the separation of the Prime Minister's father and his wife, who divorced in 1977, except that Justin's father took custody of him and his two siblings.

At least Sophie will never have to wonder "what if" she had sent that email. Nor Justin mulling over "what if" he took Sophie playing hard to get at face value and decided not to comb through his inbox. They made a great couple and gained three wonderful children from their time together. As they say, "Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."