Sophie Grégoire Trudeau says family life with PM post-separation ’gets messy,’ but they have each other’s back

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau's new book isn't going to have the gossip that some people may be seeking about the end of her marriage to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

I've met enough humans in my life to know that, yes, some will be trying to sniff out the gossip … [but] there's not much to sniff out, to be honest, Grégoire Trudeau told The Current (new window).

"I'm in a family and I'm raising my kids, and I've had, you know, a partner where sincerity, open conversations, difficult conversations, are at the core of who we are as a family.

I feel that this space of calm inside me, most people sense it. And the ones who don't, well, it's OK. I can't control that.

Grégoire Trudeau and the prime minister announced (new window) their separation last August, after 18 years of marriage.

WATCH | A 'key supporter' in PM's rise to power: 

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Sophie Grégoire Trudeau played 'huge’ role in PM's career, reporter says

Globe and Mail reporter Laura Stone, who profiled Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, talks about the 'huge' and very public role she played in the prime minister's political career.

Canada does not have an official role of First Lady in the way that countries like the U.S. do, but nonetheless she became the spouse of a world leader when Trudeau's Liberals were elected in 2015.

It's not a role that she significantly identifies with.

People were asking me, 'How is it to be the wife of a prime minister?' she said.

And I was like, 'What are you talking about?' Like, I'm just Sophie G. in the house. I'm staying the same person.

Book explores emotional literacy

Her new book, Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other, came out Tuesday.

Part memoir, part self-help guide (new window), the book's press release says it invites readers on a deeply personal journey toward self-knowledge, acceptance and empowerment. It's the first of a two-part book deal with publisher Penguin Random House. The second one will be a children's book, expected next year.

Grégoire Trudeau said the book was finished and submitted before the split was announced, and she wasn't tempted to update the manuscript with any details.

• A timeline of the Trudeaus' personal and political moments (new window)

The former couple have three children, Xavier, 16, Ella-Grace, 15, and Hadrien, 10. Grégoire Trudeau said the separation has been a learning process for them as a family, but she believes you don't have to slay a relationship in order to restructure it.

We are still bound by respect and love, and we have each other's backs and minds and hearts, she said.

Sometimes it gets messy, like, you know, in all family life. And it should be, because it kind of makes us appreciate the better times.

Grégoire Trudeau started her career as a reporter and TV host in Quebec, and in recent years has worked as a public speaker and mental health advocate. She founded her own communications company, Under Your Light Communications, in 2022.

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She interviews a range of experts in the book, from addictions and stress specialist Dr. Gabor Maté to Canada's Governor General Mary Simon. One of the topics she explores is emotional literacy, which she described as emotional leadership.

It means being aware of why we feel the way we do, how we can intervene on our own emotions and how we can cope better with stress and anxiety.

She acknowledged that finding that emotional equilibrium can be difficult when people are facing major crises, from climate change to political polarization to economic inequity. 

But she added that she meets people every day who are working hard to address those problems, well outside the political realm. 

[They make] sacrifices in their own family, devotion to service, to helping each other to create more justice in this world, she said. 

Anger directed at PM Trudeau

The prime minister spoke with (new window) The Current earlier this month, and was asked about the polarization that has become apparent in Canadian politics — particularly in flags and stickers bearing the words F--k Trudeau. 

The Liberal leader said there's a level of polarization and toxicity that is visible in both social media and real life these days, but it doesn't represent all Canadians.

WATCH | PM on waning support and 'F--k Trudeau' flags:

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PM on waning support and 'F--k Trudeau' flags

In response to waning polls and anti-Trudeau flags, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says 'polarization and toxicity' is very visible online and in real life, but doesn't represent all Canadians.

In the book, Grégoire Trudeau writes that her children have seen those slogans, as well as posters of their dad standing on a gallows in front of an executioner. She also writes about attempts to physically harm the prime minister, and that it's hard to think that your kids might not be or feel secure in the midst of all of this.

She told The Current that the rhetoric saddens her. 

It makes me sad to see that people, you know, have so much anger and fear, and that we have been taught in many ways to direct that anger and that fear at one person.

Padraig Moran (new window) · CBC Radio