Brigitte Macron has said her time as France's First Lady has exposed her to the 'stupidity' and 'wickedness' of the world.
The former drama teacher, 73, said her time by her husband Emmanuel Macron's side as he led France for nearly a decade has made her sadder and more cynical.
Brigitte told La Tribune Dimanche: 'Before, I had a normal life, children, a job, ups and downs, like everyone else.
'Here, these 10 years have passed so quickly. They have been so intense. I have seen the darkness of the world, stupidity, wickedness.
'It's sometimes difficult for me to see the blue sky. I have moments of pessimism that I didn't have before.'
The highly public role that she has held since 2017 invited huge scrutiny of everything from her relationship with her husband to even whether she was a woman.
Candace Owens, the right-wing US podcaster, has long accused Brigitte of being a transgender woman.
The claims were based on statements made by Amandine Roy, a 53-year-old clairvoyant, and Natacha Rey, a 49-yea-old blogger.
Brigitte Macron (pictured) has said her time as France's First Lady has exposed her to the 'stupidity' and 'wickedness' of the world
The former drama teacher, 73, said her time by her husband Emmanuel Macron's (pictured, left) side as he led France for nearly a decade has made her sadder and more cynical
Ms Roy and Ms Rey had appeared on a four-hour YouTube video in December 2021 in which they claimed that Brigitte was in fact born as a baby boy called Jean-Michel Trogneux in 1953.
This is in fact the name of Brigitte's brother, and Ms Macron was called Brigitte Trogneux before her first marriage.
Owens leapt on the claims, putting out episode after episode of her podcast, 'Becoming Brigitte', in which she repeated the allegations.
She said in 2024 that she would stake her 'entire professional reputation' on her belief that Mrs Macron 'is in fact a man.'
The assertations were so damaging to the Macrons that they sued Owens in the US in 2025, alleging that the podcaster had been spreading 'outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions.'
On top of the allegations made by fringe media figures, the Macrons' relationship has been heavily scrutinised.
In May 2025, Macron's office admitted that his wife Brigitte hit him during a row, after footage showed the First Lady appearing to push his face away as their plane touched down in Vietnam.
Shocking video of the incident, shot by the Associated Press news agency in Hanoi, shows the French President's plane door opening to reveal him.
His wife Brigitte's arms then emerge from the left of the open doorway as she places both hands on her husband's face and gives it a shove.
The president appears startled but quickly recovers and turns to wave through the open door.
Footage shot by the Associated Press news agency in Hanoi on Sunday evening shows Macron's plane door opening to reveal him
His wife Brigitte's arms emerge from the left of the open doorway, she places both hands on her husband's face and gives it a shove
She remains concealed by the aircraft body, making it impossible to see her facial expression or body language.
The couple then proceed down the staircase for the official welcome by Vietnamese officials, though Brigitte Macron does not take her husband's offered arm.
Macron's office initially denied the authenticity of the images, before they were confirmed as genuine.
A close associate of the president later described the incident as a couple's harmless 'squabble'.
An Elysee official played down the moment, denying it showed an argument between the couple, who have been married since 2007: 'It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh.'
'It was a moment of closeness,' the official said.
Another member of his entourage played down the significance of the incident.
'It was a moment when the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by joking around,' the second source told reporters.
'It's a moment of togetherness. No more was needed to feed the mills of the conspiracy theorists,' the source added.
Even before the slap, the couple were subjected to hurtful speculation because of its beginnings.
It was in 1992, when the future president was a schoolboy at La Providence high school Amiens, that he first developed deep affection for his drama teacher, the then 40-year-old Brigitte Auzière, who was married with three young children.
Amandine Roy, a 53-year-old clairvoyant, (pictured) and Natacha Rey both pushed claims Brigitte was born a man
Ms Roy and Natacha Rey (pictured) had appeared on a four-hour YouTube video in December 2021 in which they claimed that Brigitte was in fact born as a baby boy
Some claim the relationship became a dangerously irresponsible one – allegations both parties have always denied – but Ms Macron later admitted that being romantically linked 'with such a young boy was crippling,' especially in a close-knit, Romant Catholic community.
She spoke of the rumours her own boy and two girls – one a classmate of young Emmanuel – had to deal with, saying: 'You can imagine what they were hearing. But I didn't want to miss out on my life.'
The couple finally wed in 2007, a decade before Mr Macron came from nowhere to win the French presidency as an independent candidate.