SYDNEY, Australia: Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has announced his engagement to his partner, Jodie Haydon whom he had met at a business dinner in Melbourne in 2020.
Albanese shared the announcement on social media the morning after Valentine’s Day (Thursday) posting a picture of the pair, with Haydon showing off the new ring.
“She said yes,” prime minister Albanese wrote.
This will to be the first time an Australian prime minister has got married while in office.
The duo had a Valentine’s Day dinner Wednesday night at Italian & Sons in Canberra’s inner north.
Later on, after returning to The Lodge, Anthony Albanese popped the question to Haydon.
According to Guardian Australia, Albanese specially designed the engagement ring.
“We are thrilled and excited to share this news and look forward to spending the rest of our lives together,” Albanese and Haydon said in a joint statement. “We are so lucky to have found each other,” they added.
Minister for foreign affairs and Albanese’s longtime ally, Penny Wong, congratulated the couple on social media.
“Love is a beautiful thing. I’m so happy for you both!” Wong said in a post on X.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton also congratulated Albanese in the chamber on Thursday, adding Haydon is a “lovely person”.
“I wish them every happiness and it’s obviously a special relationship that they’ve got and I wish them every success,” he said.
Christopher Luxon, New Zealand’s prime minister, also offered his well wishes: “Congratulations Anthony – very happy for you and Jodie.”
The two met at a working dinner in Melbourne in 2019. Haydon, who lives at The Lodge with Albanese in Canberra and works as a women’s officer for the Public Services Association of NSW, has joined the Prime Minister on a number of official state visits, including a state dinner in The White House with US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.
The couple’s relationship has overcome some problems that already go beyond the realm of politics.
Albanese faced a near-death experience in January 2021 when a Range Rover driving on the wrong side of the road plowed into him while driving in Marrickville.
Albanese was previously married to Carmel Tebbutt, a former deputy premier of the New South Wales government. They have a 23-year-old son, Nathan, together.
