Australia PM Anthony Albanese marries long-time partner. Who is Jodie Haydon?

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has married his long-time partner, Jodie Haydon, in a quiet ceremony at The Lodge on Saturday, making him the first sitting PM in the country’s history to tie the knot while in office.

Albanese, 62, confirmed the news himself by sharing a short video on X with the caption “Married”.

In a joint statement to the media, quoted by Reuters, the pair said they were “absolutely delighted to share our love and commitment to spending our future lives together, in front of our family and closest friends.”

The wedding was kept almost entirely under wraps, with only close family, a few friends and select cabinet colleagues present.

So who exactly is Jodie Haydon, and how did her relationship with Albanese begin? Here’s a closer look.

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Who is Jodie Haydon?

Born in 1979, Jodie Haydon spent her early years in Australia’s Bankstown. She grew up close to her grandparents in Avoca and often stopped by their home between netball matches, shifts at the local fish-and-chip shop, and classes at Kincumber High School. Her family then moved to Sydney, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

According to 9Honey, Haydon has long been viewed as a “powerhouse in her own right”. Though she comes from a family of teachers, she ultimately left university to focus on her career in the superannuation field.

She went on to build a two-decade career, working with major financial institutions and industry funds before eventually moving into strategic leadership roles.

In 2022, she was hired as a women’s officer after she was a union delegate for the NSW Public Service Association. As of now, she is the head of strategic partnerships at Teachers Mutual Bank.

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How did Albanese meet Jodie?

The two met at a dinner event in Melbourne in March 2020. Haydon had yelled “up the Rabbitohs’ while the Labor leader was speaking at the event, referring to his favourite South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league team.

For context, in late 2019, at a Melbourne union conference, Albanese, then Opposition Leader and recently separated from his wife, former NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt, had asked Rabbitohs fans in the room to make themselves known. Haydon, working with a union super fund at the time, yelled the same enthusiastic line.

Albanese introduced himself after that encounter, but the real step forward came from Haydon. She later reached out to him on X, with a “hey, we’re both single”.

Their first proper meeting was over beers at Young Henrys brewery in Newtown. Not long after, Albanese invited her to the Woodford Folk Festival, and the two quickly discovered they clicked on many levels.

When Covid-19 lockdowns began, the quiet months that followed gave their relationship room to grow. They cooked together, binge-watched shows and shared music, all away from public attention.

That changed in mid-2020, when they were photographed kissing at Woolloomooloo Wharf. For Haydon, who friends describe as warm, grounded and unfailingly friendly, the sudden spotlight was overwhelming.

She had lived privately for years, and overnight she found herself linked to one of Australia’s most visible political figures.

In early 2021, Albanese was involved in a serious car accident. Speaking to The Australian Women’s Weekly in 2022, she said she realised “just how much you love this person”. She recalled jumping into the ambulance and seeing him, and knowing instantly “the depth of my feelings towards him.”

Less than a year and a half after they first met, Albanese became Prime Minister, and Haydon’s life shifted even further from its quiet beginnings.

She was now living at The Lodge, supported by Commonwealth staff. French President Emmanuel Macron kissed her hand during an official event. S

he walked inside Westminster Abbey for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, and returned months later for King Charles’ coronation. On one trip to the United States, First Lady Jill Biden even handed her a pair of sandshoes so she could walk more comfortably back to the guesthouse.

On Valentine’s Day in 2024, Albanese proposed on the balcony of The Lodge, asking her to marry him.

The wedding

The wedding was small and personal. Haydon walked down the aisle with her parents, Bill and Pauline, to Ben Folds’ song The Luckiest. She wore a gown by the Sydney label Romance Was Born. Albanese wore a suit from MJ Bale.

Haydon’s five-year-old niece, Ella, was the flower girl. Albanese’s dog, Toto, carried the rings. The couple exchanged vows they wrote themselves, with a celebrant from the NSW Central Coast officiating, as The Guardian reported.

After the ceremony, they walked back up the aisle to Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours). Their first dance was to Frank Sinatra’s The Way You Look Tonight.

Cabinet Ministers such as Jim Chalmers, Katy Gallagher, Richard Marles and Penny Wong attended the wedding, along with family members, including Albanese’s son, Nathan.

The couple will honeymoon in Australia next week.

With input from agencies