Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he is splitting from his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau on an Instagram post.

“Hi everyone, Sophie and I would like to share the fact that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate. As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build For the well-being of our children, we ask that you respect our and their privacy. Thank you,” the announcement said.

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The former couple were married in late May 2005. They have three children, Xavier, 15, Ella-Grace, 14, and Hadrien, 9.

Who are Xavier, Ella-Grace, and Hadrien?

Xavier James, the eldest child, was born on October 18, 2007. Ella-Grace Margaret is the second child. She was born on February 5, 2009. Hadrien Grégoire is the youngest. He was born on February 28, 2014.

Justin and Sophie occasionally shared photos of their children on social media and during public appearances. They are known to be a close-knit family and have been spotted together on various occasions.

In the past, Justin had talked about how being a father of three had helped him become a better leader because it helped him understand the importance of investing in children and families.

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During the pandemic, his wife was diagnosed with COVID and had to isolate away from their children in a specific part of the house, which meant Justin had to become a full-time parent for the couple’s three children.

Although they had a cook to make meals and staff members to drop off toys whenever required, Justin was the only one who cleaned up, did laundry and oversaw the children’s daily activities. He also became late for one briefing with his staff because he was finishing the bath-time routine for Hadrien.

“You could hear the kids running around laughing, and playing in the background, and coming over saying, ‘Come on daddy, let’s do this,’” said Ben Chin, the prime minister’s senior adviser, who was also in self-isolation at the time.

He added: “You heard the half-muffled reasonable dad voice: ‘Daddy’s on an important phone call right now. I can’t do that.’”