Sophie Grégoire Trudeau reflects on 'difficult' decision to end 18-year marriage: 'I imagined the worst case scenario'

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau shared new information about the end of her 18-year marriage to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In a new feature by ELLE Canada, Grégoire Trudeau spoke candidly but cautiously about the decision to publicly announce their separation on Aug. 2, 2023.

"I imagined the worst-case scenario, I'll tell you that," she said. "I had to. I didn't want to be naive. But I also had to protect myself... Let's just say that we [all] stayed away from our phones. We were together as a family, [and] we held each other."

The 48-year-old called the decision to separate "hard" and made her think a lot about relationships and being vulnerable.

"I'm a family woman — family is everything to me [because] I'm an only child, so the thought of breaking that mould or transforming that mould… Even the words we use to describe relationships — it's either success [and you] stay together or failure [and you] go on different paths," she said. "We really need to develop a new vocabulary for human beings as we transform on our own paths."

Fearing for the impact the end of her marriage would have on her family, Grégoire Trudeau explained: "[I had to] sit with myself [and] say 'Okay, you need to make decisions here. And all of them will cost you. Which one [do you choose]?' So [it was] very difficult."

The Montreal-native said navigating the couple's public break-up has been confusing and filled with conflicting emotions, Grégoire Trudeau confessed. "Are there days when I ask myself 'What have I done?' Yes. Deep inside, do I feel integrity and congruence? Yes. So I sit with all of it. And it's chaotic, and it's a mess, but it's also loving, compassionate and tender.

"That doesn't mean it hurts less, but you take things less personally because you understand human functioning better," she said, adding that she and Justin Trudeau still share laughs together. "And we will for a very long time."

Sophie and Justin Trudeau's journey together began long before their political ascent, dating back to their youth and eventually leading to their marriage in May 2005.

In August 2023, they announced their separation in a statement on Instagram that reflected the difficult decision.

"Sophie and I would like to share that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate," the statement read, adding that, "As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build."

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