By Comfort Asemota
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese married his partner Jodie Haydon on Saturday, becoming the first sitting leader in the country’s history to wed while in office.
The 62-year-old prime minister and the financial services professional exchanged vows in an intimate garden ceremony at The Lodge, his official residence in Canberra. Albanese shared a short social media post simply captioned “Married”, alongside a video of the couple beaming as confetti fell around them. Haydon wore a long white gown, while Albanese appeared in a classic bow tie.
In a joint statement, the newlyweds said they were “absolutely delighted to share our love and commitment to spending our future lives together, in front of our family and closest friends.” The ceremony took place more than a year after Albanese proposed on Valentine’s Day 2024, saying he had found someone “he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.”
The couple wrote their own vows, and a celebrant officiated the wedding. Guests enjoyed beer from a Sydney brewery, and the pair walked back up the aisle to Stevie Wonder’s iconic song “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours).”
Albanese and Haydon will begin a five-day honeymoon in Australia starting Monday.
The prime minister, who divorced in 2019 and has an adult son named Nathan, first met Haydon more than five years ago at a business dinner in Melbourne. Earlier this year, he secured a second three-year term as leader of the centre-left Labor Party after a landslide election victory.
Adding a special touch to the ceremony, Albanese’s cavoodle, Toto, served as the ring bearer.
