Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie are separating

By Jennifer Henderson, Paula Newton and Tara John, CNN

(CNN) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau are separating, Trudeau announced on his Instagram account Wednesday.

Trudeau said after “many meaningful and difficult conversations” with Sophie, “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,” he wrote.

He asked that their privacy be respected for the well-being of their children.

The prime minister’s office said the pair have “have signed a legal separation agreement,” in a Wednesday statement.

“They have worked to ensure that all legal and ethical steps with regards to their decision to separate have been taken, and will continue to do so moving forward,’ it said.

How they met

After spending several years teaching in Vancouver, Trudeau returned to Montreal in 2002 where he met Grégoire, according to the Canadian Prime Minister’s official biography.

“In 2002, Justin returned home to Montréal, where he met Sophie Grégoire. They married in 2005 and are now the proud parents of Xavier, Ella-Grace, and Hadrien,” it wrote.

According to Trudeau’s Liberal Party website, Grégoire Trudeau gained a degree in communications at the University of Montréal, later working in sales and advertising before becoming a television and radio reporter.

In an Instagram post celebrating their wedding anniversary last year, Grégoire Trudeau said the pair had “navigated through sunny days, heavy storms, and everything in between and it ain’t over.”

She added: “Long-term relationships are challenging in so many ways. They demand constant work, flexibility, compromise, sacrifice, devotion, patience, effort, and so much more. None of us are perfect and so there is no perfect relationship, but love is only true when it keeps you safe, sets you free, and makes you grow.”

The pair attended King Charles’ coronation in London earlier in May, and also met with US President Joe Biden in March.

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