The Stunning Transformation Of Emmanuel Macron's Wife Brigitte Since Becoming France's First Lady

When Emmanuel Macron won the French presidential elections in May 2017, his wife, Brigitte Macron, could barely believe it. Although Emmanuel had been the favorite to win the presidency, the actual moment when he stepped on stage as the next president of France left Brigitte feeling completely disoriented. Describing the emotional announcement of his win months later, Brigitte told Elle, "The evening of the second round [of elections], I was at the Louvre and I saw him step forward ... I was totally paralyzed. And then my children came to fetch me: 'Okay, it's probably time for you to get up there.' I felt like crying. I went upstairs and all I saw was Emmanuel, not the crowd."

At the time, Brigitte understood that her life was about to change. Once a quiet schoolteacher who focused on imparting lessons in French literature, Brigitte was now the First Lady of France. Rather than spend her days looking inside a book, Emmanuel Macron's wife would now have to look outward at public responsibilities, the international media, and life in the spotlight. When asked about this transition by Elle, Brigitte responded confidently, "With Emmanuel, I've grown so used to extraordinary things happening to me that I always wonder what the next adventure will be."

Upon stepping into her new role as the First Lady of France, Brigitte Macron was a bit stunned. For one thing, she told Elle that Emmanuel Macron's presidential win "made me dizzy." She also didn't seem too keen on the first lady title at all. "I don't feel like the first lady," Brigitte explained. "That's an American expression, and there's nothing about it that works for me. When I hear it, I always want to look over my shoulder — who are you talking about?  I don't feel like the first — or the last — or like a lady!" How did she prefer to be referred to? "I'm Brigitte Macron," she exclaimed.

This seeming rejection of the first lady title may demonstrate some cultural differences between America and France, but it also displayed Brigitte's initial hesitancy to accept her new role. As she grew further and further into her role as a public figure, Brigitte would eventually come to embrace the idea of being first lady. In his capacity as president, Emmanuel even tried to arrange an official budget meant to fund Brigitte's contributions. While this proposal was ultimately rejected, the government did create a charter to help define her role.

As Brigitte Macron became more comfortable with her new first lady role, she also had to accept her new existence in the public eye. No longer could she simply walk down the street and pick up a baguette at her local boulangerie. Now, she had to do everything accompanied by a security detail. This loss of independence was accompanied by the most difficult elements of fame. Like many others who became famous overnight, Brigitte had to learn a thing or two about wearing disguises. Laughing about this reality in a chat with Elle, Brigitte explained, "With a hat, headphones, and glasses, I can go to the end of the world! If no one can see my hair, I'm left alone, but it's all over once they see it!"

Despite the challenges of having to hide in plain sight, Brigitte told Elle that she was getting used to her new reality. "The man has not been born who can confine me!" she joked. "Sure, I have one or two security officers with me when I leave the palace, but I go out every day. I walk around without a care ... and I enjoy talking to the people I meet." Although coping with the loss of her anonymity could not have been easy, Brigitte learned to accept her new lifestyle. She even admitted to enjoying her time wandering the streets of Paris, suggesting that her adjustment was successful.

It's no secret that fame comes with a level of scrutiny. Female public figures, in particular, are judged on their appearance — whether that be celebrity weight loss transformations or big fashion moments. When it comes to the latter, Brigitte Macron has made a name for herself beyond belief. Indeed, the French first lady has become something of a fashion icon, even wearing the French couture brands that made her country so famous. Commenting on the media's coverage of her outfits in an interview with Elle, Brigitte said she wasn't offended by the scrutiny, asking, "If it's good for French fashion, why not?"

If anything, Brigitte has leaned into her role as a fashionista since becoming first lady. Although she admitted to dressing well during her schoolteacher days, Brigitte also embraced high fashion in her public role. She rubbed shoulders with Louis Vuitton's creative director, Nicolas Ghesquière, and was even dressed by Olivier Rousteing of Balmain. Reflecting on the experience of dressing Brigitte in 2017, Rousteing told Glamour, "What I love about my first lady is she is so different and diverse from all the [other] Balmain Army girls. It shows how [the brand] is about diversity. When she started asking me for clothes, I was really, really proud." Since then, Brigitte has attended several Paris Fashion Week shows, reflecting her desire to support her country's fashion industry.

Although acting as France's first lady may sound glamorous, the position isn't just about fashion and flashing cameras. Like any other person in a significant political role, Brigitte Macron is expected to dedicate herself to a number of social projects. Since Emmanuel Macron's rise to the presidency in 2017, Brigitte has committed herself to an issue that has long been close to her heart: education.

As a former schoolteacher, Brigitte believes strongly in the power of educational opportunities. In September 2018, she launched the Institute of Vocations for Employment (LIVE) in order to serve adults facing long-term unemployment. The organization's goal has been to give people the tools they need to jump-start their professional lives. According to the institute's website, approximately 80% of participants go on to start either new jobs or professional courses following their participation in the program.

Interestingly, Brigitte has taken on an unusually hands-on role in LIVE's day-to-day activities. Because of her background in the realm of education, she has chosen to occasionally work as one of the project's teachers. While many other people in her position tend to take on a more symbolic role in their charities, Brigitte actually taught literature and culture classes to a group of LIVE students in the town of Clichy-sous-Bois in 2019.

For a while, it seemed that Brigitte Macron was truly coming into her role as first lady. Not only had she mastered the arts of French fashion and charitable endeavors, but she also found a way to tie her new position to her educational background. All this, however, was destined to change in December 2021 — just months before Emmanuel Macron's bid for reelection in April 2022. During this time, Brigitte faced something she likely never imagined to be a part of her tenure as first lady — a conspiracy theory alleging she was secretly transgender.

An individual using the name Amandine Roy published a YouTube interview with a self-proclaimed journalist named Natacha Rey. During the bizarre conversation, Rey alleged that Brigitte's birth name was actually Jean-Michel Trogneux. The two podcasters then went on to analyze Brigitte's curves, opining that her body could not belong to a woman with two X chromosomes. Although this video was riddled with inaccuracies, it went viral within a matter of hours. Before long, the hashtag #Jean-MichelTrogneux dominated French social media.

Brigitte and her brother — the real Jean-Michel Trogneux — sued Roy and Rey. The siblings initially won their lawsuit, however, the charges against Roy and Rey were cleared in the court of appeals. Speaking to The Guardian, French journalist Emmanuelle Anizon explained, "This is now one of the biggest fake news stories worldwide in terms of popularity."

If the public took an immediate interest in the conspiracy theory surrounding Brigitte Macron's gender identity, it was hardly a surprise. Interest in Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron's unusual relationship has long dominated international media. The reason? The Macrons first fell in love at school — where Brigitte was a teacher and Emmanuel was a student. The first lady was a married adult with three children who was 24 years his senior, meanwhile, Emmanuel was a 15-year-old high schooler who looked up to her as a mentor. Despite the obviously inappropriate nature of this romance, the duo pursued their connection and married in 2007.

When Emmanuel became the president of France, public fascination with the couple's relationship was inevitable. What may have been surprising for Brigitte, however, was the decision of her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, to dish about it to the press. In February 2024, Auzière sat down with Paris Match and talked about how the relationship impacted her. She described the way that local gossips caused her to suffer, telling the publication, "The attacks, the backbiting, the judgments. It was not yet the era of social networks, but we were in a small provincial town. Everything is known" (via the Daily Mail). Brigitte did not respond to her daughter's tell-all publicly.

Although certain aspects of Brigitte Macron's public role definitely posed a challenge, others seemed to provide her with unique opportunities. This appeared true when Emmanuel Macron's wife made a striking cameo on the hit Netflix series "Emily in Paris" in 2024. Brigitte had long enjoyed watching the show, despite criticism of lead actor, Lily Collins', character. But things only got serious after the French first lady first met the cast in December 2022 at the Élysée Palace in Paris. The encounter was apparently so positive that the "Emily in Paris" team could not resist the possibility of a collaboration. Hence, the idea of Brigitte's cameo was born.

Reflecting on her time with Brigitte, Collins told Elle, "She is a big fan of the show and took the mention of her in Season 1 with great humor. This scene in Season 4 is a wink, and shooting with her was both an honor and a real joy." During her cameo, Brigitte appears to be eating at the same restaurant as the titular character. In typical Emily fashion, she approaches the first lady to tell her how much she adores France. Brigitte then quips back, "And my country loves you, Emily." The two take a selfie together in what became a lighthearted on-camera moment.

It would be impossible to say that Brigitte Macron's time as first lady has been a walk in the park. Although she has enjoyed some neat opportunities in the capacity of her public role, she has also faced an extraordinary amount of criticism. In 2024, American right-wing influencer Candace Owens picked up the old conspiracy theory about Brigitte's gender identity, going as far as to declare that she would "stake [her] entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man" (via The Guardian). Owens then proceeded to release a podcast series titled, "Becoming Brigitte," in which she claimed to explore the full implications of Brigitte's so-called transition.

Owens' claims have proven extremely harmful to Brigitte, who likely didn't expect her first lady role to come with so much media attention. In 2025, she and her husband, Emmanuel Macron, decided to fight back against Owens. The couple filed a defamation lawsuit against the influencer in the U.S. state of Delaware. Per a statement released by the Macrons' lawyers, "Ms Owens' campaign of defamation was plainly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety." In a podcast episode, Owens appeared undeterred as she responded to the couple, calling their lawsuit an "obvious and desperate public relations strategy."

Brigitte Macron's feud with Candace Owens may not have been the most positive experience of her life, but the French first lady has had the chance to connect with several other impressive people over the course of her career. She has particularly enjoyed meeting other first ladies and chatting with them about some of the biggest issues facing society today. As she told Elle of Melania Trump in 2017, "I called Melania Trump by her first name. She is a woman who is very concerned about education, about doing things well. It's touching."

Fascinatingly, Melania Trump was not the only first lady to have had a positive impact on Brigitte's time in the public eye. The French first lady has also cited Colombia's former first lady, María Clemencia Rodríguez De Santos, as someone who she enjoyed getting to know. Brigitte also connected well with former First Lady of the United States Jill Biden who once told the press, "We instantly, you know, knew that we liked each other" (via the Daily Mail).

Over the years, Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron have faced an extraordinary amount of criticism for their marriage. Despite public reactions to their massive age gap, the couple has worked hard to maintain a pristine public image. As Brigitte told Elle in 2017, the couple never spends a single night in separate locations — at least not by choice. "It comforts me when Emmanuel is by my side. I wouldn't want to speak for him, but I'm pretty sure he feels the same way," she said.

As cute as that may sound, there have been plenty of signs that Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron's marriage may not last another year. In 2025, the couple made headlines when a camera captured a bizarre moment between them on their plane. Video footage of the interaction showed Brigitte pushing Emmanuel's face away with her hands. Although some spectators wondered if this represented an instance of domestic violence, the Macrons insisted that the gesture was a playful one. A source from the Elysée Palace told the press that the French president "loves playing jokes on his wife before official occasions, and she always responds like this ... It wasn't even a slap" (via The Guardian). Although it's impossible to verify what exactly transpired behind closed doors, one thing is clear: The Macrons have had to defend their marriage time and time again.