PM weds fiancee in intimate history-making ceremony
Antony Albanese is the prime minister of history.
He made history when he became the first Italian-Australian head of government.
He made history by leading Labor to a landslide election victory in 2025, securing 94 seats in the house of representatives; this was the highest number of seats ever won by a single party in an Australian federal poll.
He made history again on Saturday, becoming the first prime minister to marry while in office.
Surrounded by family and close friends, Mr Albanese married his partner Jodie Haydon in an intimate ceremony at The Lodge in Canberra.
“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 guest list of approximately 60 people did not include world leaders, but Finance Minister Jim Chalmers and his wife Laura were also included.
Other Labor figures in attendance included Tim Ayres, Tony Burke, Katy Gallagher, Penny Wong, Mark Butler, Richard Marles, Penny Sharpe and Jo Haylen.
Flanked by her parents Bill and Pauline, Ms Haydon walked down the aisle in an intricate, long-sleeved white dress adorned with floral motifs by Sydney designer Romance is Born as Ben Fold’s The Luckiest played.
Mr Albanese wore a black tuxedo from MJ Bale and the pair exchanged self-written vows.
Their dog Toto did the ring-bearing honors and Mrs Haydon’s five-year-old niece Ella was the flower girl.
Cheers erupted from the gardens shortly after 4.30pm as the newlyweds walked hand in hand down the aisle towards Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours).
Guests were treated to beer in a special can made by Boatman Willie, who owns the brewery in Mr Albanese’s constituency in Sydney’s inner west.
The duo capped the occasion with their first dance to Frank Sinatra’s The Way You Look Tonight.
The event also brought good wishes from those on the other side of Mr Albanese’s political aisle.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said: “I wish them happiness as they continue to build their lives together.”
Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon will spend a five-day honeymoon in Australia starting Monday.
Ms Haydon, head of strategic partnerships at Teachers Mutual Bank, met Mr Albanese at a business dinner in Melbourne in 2019.
Mr. Albanese proposed at The Lodge on Valentine’s Day 2024 with a ring he helped design.
Earlier that year, the couple bought a cliff-top home overlooking Copacabana Beach on the Central Coast 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 have a son named Nathan, born in 2000, and separated in early 2019 after 19 years of marriage.
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