Sophie Trudeau has opened up about how she got through her ‘heartbreaking’ split from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The pair shocked the world when they announced that they were divorcing in August 2023 after 18 years of marriage.
Now, the former TV star, 49, who has since been linked to an Ottawa-based pediatric surgeon, has shared how she was able to move past their very public breakup.
She told the UK’s The Telegraph recently that she had ‘trained her brain’ to ‘not cling to relationships,’ which made ‘cutting ties’ easier.
‘I’ve trained my brain to deal with uncertainty. I learned to cut ties and not cling too much to life, to others, to relationships,’ she explained.
The former eTalk host added that she’d done ‘a lot of self regulation’ since her marriage dissolved, and credited her work as a ‘yoga and meditation teacher’ with helping her.
Sophie also told the publication that she and Justin, 52, were ‘lucky’ that they were able to have ‘respectful’ and ‘open communication’ with one another.
She noted that many people looked at ‘marriage as success’ and ‘separation as failure,’ which often left divorcees feeling ‘guilty’ – but she was striving to end that stigma.
Sophie Trudeau has opened up about how she got through her ‘heartbreaking’ split from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She’s pictured in May
The pair shocked the world when they announced that they were divorcing in August 2023 after 18 years of marriage. They’re seen together in 2022
‘When we feel this way, not only do we show emotional immaturity, but we leave a traumatic emotional legacy to kids who should not have to wear this,’ she stated.
The former couple met when they were just young children, as Sophie was classmates with Justin’s younger brother.
Now, the former TV star, 49, who has since been linked to an Ottawa-based pediatric surgeon (seen), has shared some of the methods that she has used to move past the breakup
They spent hours playing together in their youth, and they even shared an innocent kiss once as kids.
While they stopped talking as they got older – both heading off to college and embarking on their own career paths – the two came back into each other’s lives after they were coincidentally assigned to cohost a gala in 2003.
They tied the knot in 2005 – but as Justin’s career in politics flourished, it put a strain on their relationship.
Sophie admitted to struggling to adjust to a life in the spotlight at first, and when he became Prime Minister in 2014 and they were forced to move into the official government grounds, she had a difficult time making their new abode feel like home.
‘I always remember that when tough times do come that we keep a sense of safety in the house from all fronts and that our kids, whatever room we find ourselves in, feel that there’s actually space to discuss real things,’ she said during an interview with The Sorry Girls.
‘The container is historical, but the content is human. It’s us. Sometimes when people say “it’s so unique” – yes of course – but we’re just a family, and we’re just trying to live our lives.’
She told The Telegraph recently that she had ‘trained her brain’ to ‘not cling to relationships,’ which made ‘cutting ties’ easier. She and Justin are seen in 2015
The former eTalk host, who recently released a memoir, called Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves Loving Each Other (seen), added that she had done ‘a lot of self regulation’
Even so, they stuck together through it all, and went on to welcome three children together during their marriage: Xavier, 17, Ella-Grace, 15, and Hadrien, 10.
But in August 2023, they announced that they were separating after ‘many difficult and meaningful conversations’ about the future of their relationship.
In a joint statement shared to their Instagram accounts, they vowed to ‘remain a close family with deep love and respect for one another and for everything they had built.’
At the time, reports emerged that claimed Sophie quickly moved on with an Ottawa-based pediatric surgeon named Dr. Marcos Bettolli.
Sophie, who now teaches yoga and recently released a memoir, called Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves Loving Each Other, spoke to The Times about their split back in April, stating, ‘Something changed, something broke.’
She insisted, however, that she and Justin had remained close despite the separation.
‘We are still all hanging out together: we love each other, we spend time together. It’s organic – you know, the kids all sleeping together one night, that’s fine,’ she said.
‘And I have a little space for me and sometimes the kids come there, and we’re just so close to each other that we do it organically. And it feels good, it feels natural. It doesn’t feel forced. It feels heartwarming.
‘You know, in some ways it’s boring for some people because we’ve always been truthful to each other. We don’t hold secrets That’s not the dynamic we have.
‘And let me be honest: in some ways I’m very proud of how we — not how the world thinks of us – how we navigate this. When we’re together and we look at each other, that’s what counts.
‘Though we are no longer a couple, I know our shared sense of humor will always help us weather the storms.’
Earlier this month when Sophie spoke at a summit entitled Bouncing Back from a Broken Heart, she opened up about the ‘hurt’ she felt after the ‘heartbreaking’ split.
‘There’s still so much love and relationship and closeness in our family. But even though our relationship is transforming, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt,’ she told the audience.
‘It hurts so much. Why? Because I had to choose my authenticity over my attachment, and that can be called “heartbreak,” although the heart never breaks.’