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02-12-2025
CANBERRA: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has married his partner Jodie Haydon, becoming the country’s first leader to tie the knot while in office.
The pair married in the capital, Canberra, on Saturday afternoon, the day after the final sitting of the parliamentary year.
“We are absolutely delighted to share our love and commitment to spending our future lives together, in front of our family and closest friends,” Albanese said in a brief statement.
The couple became engaged on Valentine’s Day last year. The Labor leader’s proposal and the wedding reception both took place at his official residence, The Lodge.
Until the big day, the wedding plans had been kept under wraps due to concerns about security and potential disruptions.
In attendance were Jodie Haydon’s parents as well as Albanese’s son, Nathan, from his previous marriage.
Albanese’s dog Toto acted as ring bearer while the couple walked back down the aisle to Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m yours)”.
The prime minister also shared a video on his official social media accounts showing the happy couple walking down the aisle as guests showered them in confetti.
Several of Albanese’s cabinet ministers attended the ceremony.
At the reception, their first dance was to The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra.
The celebrations also featured custom-made beer cans printed with the image used to announce their engagement.
The couple are set to honeymoon in Australia from Monday to Friday next week plans that were pared back after his re-election in May.
Albanese, 62, and Jodie Haydon, 47, first met at a business dinner in Melbourne in 2020, while he was leader of the opposition.
She appeared during Albanese’s 2022 and 2025 election campaigns, and was seen alongside the PM at major events, including the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and a state dinner hosted by former US President Joe Biden.
Albanese also made Australian history by becoming the first prime minister to get engaged while in office.
The couple said in a joint statement at the time that they were “so lucky to have found each other”.
In February, last year, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced his engagement to his partner of four years, Jodie Haydon.
He proposed at the Lodge, the prime minister’s official Canberra residence on Valentine’s Day, with a ring he specially designed.
Albanese, 60, and Haydon, 45, met at a business dinner in Melbourne in 2020.
He is the first Australian leader to get engaged while in office.
Albanese shared the news on social media with a selfie, captioned: “She said yes.”
“We are thrilled and excited to share this news and look forward to spending the rest of our lives together. We are so lucky to have found each other,” the pair later said in a joint statement.
Colleagues from across the parliament, New Zealand leader Christopher Luxon and TV chef Nigella Lawson are among those who have congratulated the couple.
“Love is a beautiful thing. I’m so happy for you both!” wrote Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
Albanese has a son, 23-year-old Nathan Albanese, with former New South Wales deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt, whom he separated from in 2019 after 19 years of marriage. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
