Political journalist Valerie Trierweiler is France’s First Dame or First Lady to be clear.
She was supposed to be a new kind of first lady for the country and maybe even for the world. An average Frenchwoman, a striking one, middle class, twice divorced, a mother of three who’d always worked hard to make ends meet That is in a few words how everyone looked at her but, a tweet heard across the country still makes her frown I’m sure.
The picture above is an image took of Valerie when she was just 16-years-old. Valerie Massonneau was born February 16, 1965; she was raised in the town of Angers in the Loire Valley, she was brought up in a council house.
Famed for her good looks, Valerie was set to rise from her humble origins. The daughter of a clerk who had lost a leg in his teens. She grew up the fifth of six children. As a teenager, France first lady loved to be outside, riding her bike, swimming in the river and helped out at a local farm.
Her mother Jeanne, worked as a cashier at the local ice-rink to make ends meet after her husband died when Valerie was in her early twenties.
She obtained a Master of Advanced Studies in political science from the Sorbonne. She became involved in the media and in 2005 she hosted political interviews in her talk show on the Direct 8 T.V channel. So we know she definitely knows how to dress for the camera.
By 1988, she was working as a reporter on Profession Politique magazine and then for Paris Match where she started chronicling the fortunes of the Socialist party. Now the turns of life, in 1992 she interviewed the environment minister,who happened to be Ségolène Royal who had just given birth to her fourth child with Hollande! What are the odds huh!
The beautiful woman, Valerie was married to childhood friend, Frank but the couple didn’t last together. Her second marriage was to Denis Trierweiler whom she had met working at Paris Match magazine.
Denis was the sub-editor at the time and the couple have three children together but their marriage also ended in their separation in 2007 and was officially divorced in 2010.
From January to April 2012, always for Direct 8, it presents the emission routes: a series of interviews with cultural figures.
Today, she continues to work to Paris Match. Since September 2012, she became the Ambassador of France Libertés Foundation.
She and Hollande had met in 1988 and began their relationship in 2005 when they were both in other relationships. Hollande a father of four and known to be with socialist leader Senegal Royal and Valerie still a married woman.
When Hollande and Royal separated and she also decided to end her marriage to fellow journalist Denis Trierweiler; she and Francois were finally free to make their relationship public.
On June last year she caused major controversy and major headache to her man since she expressed her support for Olivier Falorni who was running for elections against Hollande’s former partner Segolene Royal, whom Hollande was supporting in the run.
Major ops for Mrs. Trierweiler, she apologized but like they said, the damage was done.
This year she made headlines again since she was accused of being the mistress of two married politicians, one of them being Hollande.
She and Francois Hollande are the first unmarried couple to be in the presidency.
You can follow Valerie on twitter here.
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