Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pulled off a political first — and no, it wasn’t a policy announcement—becoming the nation’s first leader to marry while in office after exchanging vows with partner Jodie Haydon in Canberra on Saturday.
The discreet celebration at The Lodge came complete with confetti, classic tunes and a ring-bearing dog who may now be the most famous cavoodle in the country. According to reporting from the BBC and ABC, the ceremony remained tightly under wraps until the couple had already said “I do,” ensuring the nation’s newest political love story unfolded well away from cameras and curiosity.
The wedding, held the day after Parliament wrapped up for the year, blended romance with just enough theatrical flourish to suit the moment. Albanese, 62, and Haydon, 47, wed before roughly 60 guests, including cabinet ministers and close family members. The pair wrote their own vows, while Haydon’s young niece took on flower-scattering duties and Toto — Albanese’s four-legged scene-stealer — trotted down the aisle with the rings.
The celebration leaned into the couple’s personal tastes: they walked back down the aisle to Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours), and later swayed through their first dance to Frank Sinatra’s The Way You Look Tonight. Guests reportedly enjoyed custom-printed beer cans featuring the same image used to announce the couple’s engagement — a souvenir unlikely to appear in the parliamentary gift shop anytime soon.
Security concerns and political timing meant the couple kept their plans close. They had originally eyed a larger wedding, but Labour strategists, wary of optics during a cost-of-living squeeze, nudged the festivities until after the 2025 election. Albanese had even once mused publicly about inviting former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, though in the end the guest list stayed decidedly local.
Albanese and Haydon, who works in finance, first met at a Melbourne business dinner in 2020, when Albanese was still opposition leader. Since then, she has become a familiar presence at major public events, appearing alongside him during two election campaigns and attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
The couple’s engagement — also a historic first for a sitting Australian prime minister — took place at The Lodge on Valentine’s Day last year. After their weekend nuptials, they plan a short Australian honeymoon squeezed between Monday and Friday, a modest break befitting a leader whose job rarely pauses, even for love.
(With Inputs from Agencies)
