Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Jodie Haydon have tied the knot in an intimate spring wedding in Canberra.
Previously dubbed Australia’s “royal wedding”, the couple were married in a small, outdoor ceremony at the prime minister’s Canberra residence, The Lodge.
Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon married in front of 60 close friends and family by a celebrant.
“We are absolutely delighted to share our love and commitment to spending our future lives together, in front of our family and closest friends,” they said in a statement.
The pair wrote their own vows and Toto their dog was the ring bearer.
Ms Haydon’s five year old niece Ella was flower girl.
Mr Albanese confirmed earlier this year they planned to marry before the year’s end but had remained guarded on the details of the ceremony.
He said it would be a private affair with no world leaders in attendance.
“It’s going to be a great day in front of family and friends, pretty small and something that’s about myself and Jodie rather than a big public event,” Mr Albanese told ABC Radio earlier in November.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers and wife Laura were among those on the guest list of about 60 people.
Other Labor figures including Tim Ayres, Tony Burke, Katy Gallagher, Penny Wong, Mark Butler, Richard Marles, Penny Sharpe and Jo Haylen arrived at The Lodge ahead of the 4pm wedding.
Cheers erupted from the gardens soon after 4.30pm.
In May, Ms Haydon offered a small glimpse of the couple’s plans for the big day, telling Women’s Weekly their pet cavoodle Toto would make an appearance.
It was anticipated they would marry once parliament wrapped up at the end of November, with the final sitting day taking place on Friday – the day Labor secured a massive political win when it passed historic environmental law reforms.
Ms Haydon, who is head of strategic partnerships at Teachers Mutual Bank, met Mr Albanese at a business dinner in Melbourne in 2019.
The pair previously said they bonded over their shared adoration for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The nuptials are history-making, with Mr Albanese the first sitting Australian prime minister to marry while in office.
His wife has accompanied him for official duties and international trips, with a particularly gruelling schedule in the lead-up to their big day.
The pair travelled to the White House in New York in September and again in October, meeting with US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump.
On the latter visit, Mr Albanese and Mr Trump signed their $8.5 billion critical minerals deal.
The couple also touched down in London in September, attending a dinner hosted by Mr Albanese’s UK counterpart Keir Starmer and Canadian leader Mark Carney.
Mr Albanese proposed at The Lodge on Valentine’s Day in 2024, with a ring he helped design.
“We look forward to our version of the royal wedding sometime in the near future,” then-opposition leader Peter Dutton said after the announcement.
Earlier that year, the couple bought a cliff-top home overlooking the Central Coast’s Copacabana Beach for $4.3 million.
Before meeting his wife, Mr Albanese was married to Carmel Tebbutt, whom he first met through Young Labor in the late 1980s.
They share a son, Nathan, born in 2000, and separated in early 2019 after 19 years of marriage.
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