Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces engagement

Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, revealed in a tweet on Thursday his engagement to partner Jodie Haydon.

“She said yes,” the 60-year-old Albanese posted to social media platform X, alongside a love-heart emoji.

Beneath the announcement, he posted a selfie, reportedly taken on Valentine’s Day, of the pair smiling into the lens.

Haydon is dressed in emerald green and has her hand resting on his chest, an engagement ring visible on her finger.

The prime minister, in a light-blue collared shirt, is beaming.

Albanese is the first Australian prime minister to get engaged while in office, public broadcaster ABC reported.

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“Love is a beautiful thing. I’m so happy for you both!” Foreign Minister Penny Wong posted.

Congratulations quickly flooded in from others including Australian politicians and English celebrity chef Nigella Lawson.

A smattering of online critics suggested Albanese was trying to distract from pressing issues including the war in Gaza.

Albanese, nicknamed Albo, joined the centre-left Labor Party while in high school and later became deeply involved in the bruising world of student politics at the University of Sydney.

Albanese came to power in 2022 as only the third Australian prime minister to be unmarried when assuming the role.

He divorced his first wife, Carmel Tebbutt, in 2019. No Australian prime minister has wed while in office.

Haydon, a former worker in the superannuation industry, said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph that she and Albanese met in late 2019 and started dating – getting to know each other well during the Covid pandemic.

She has performed official duties as the prime minister’s partner, accompanying him on international trips and meeting with world leaders during state visits.

Albanese has one son, Nathan, who was born in 2000 – and a much-loved cavoodle dog named Toto.

The Australian leader was elected to parliament in 1996, and in his first speech thanked his mother, Maryanne Ellery, for raising him in tough circumstances.

The pair lived in public housing in Sydney during Albanese’s childhood and his single mother often struggled to make ends meet.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg