Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, wife Sophie to separate after 18 years of marriage

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie are separating after 18 years, following “meaningful and difficult conversations”.

In an Instagram post, the couple said they would remain “a close family with deep love and respect” for each other.

They were married in Montreal in 2005 and have three children together.

In a statement, Trudeau’s office said that while the couple had signed a separation agreement they will still make public appearances.

“We remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build,” Trudeau, 51, and Sophie, 48, said.

They also sought privacy for the “well-being” of their children. They asked for privacy ahead of a family vacation scheduled for next week.

Trudeau and his wife, a former entertainment reporter, were childhood friends and reconnected in 2003 while co-hosting a charity ball. They soon started dating and married in 2005 in Montreal.

They have three children together: Xavier, 15, Ella Grace, 14, and nine-year-old Hadrien.

The separation is the first for a Canadian prime minister since Trudeau’s late father Pierre Trudeau, who split from Margaret Trudeau and eventually divorced in 1984 during his final months in office.