Who is Sophie Gregoire? Justin Trudeau’s ex-wife’s post goes viral after Katy Perry yacht romance

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau is busy mastering the art of moving on — gracefully, and on her own terms.

The 50-year-old TV host and author, and estranged wife of former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, took to Instagram this week with a note that felt equal parts zen and self-assured. “Sometimes we forget that nothing we love is ever meant to be kept. The people, the places, even the moments that once felt infinite, right?” she wrote alongside a soft-lit clip, as reported by People.

The post dropped just days after Trudeau was spotted with singer Katy Perry on a yacht. The photos surfaced a month after Perry’s engagement to Orlando Bloom ended — a timing coincidence that set social media ablaze. Neither Perry nor Trudeau has commented on the relationship.

Sparks between Sophie Grégoire and Justin Trudeau were first lit long before politics — or adulthood — ever entered the picture. As children, Gregoire was classmates with Trudeau's youngest brother, Michel, and often hung out at the Trudeau home.

“They had this really cool pool with a trapeze and ropes — we’d play Tarzan for hours,” she told Maclean’s in 2005. “We would hide in the closets to have our first kiss.”

Fast forward a few decades, and fate threw them back together when they co-hosted a charity event in 2003. But this time, timing wasn’t on their side. After the event, Trudeau reportedly ghosted Gregoire.

“I got the email, and I said, ‘Nice. Okay. Good.’ And I didn’t answer it,” he later admitted. “I didn’t delete it, I just decided, ‘No, I’m better off not starting anything that I’m not willing to go through with.’”

When they finally did go out, their first date ended with dinner, karaoke, and a classic Trudeau moment — he famously walked into a pole on the way home, as People reported.

The couple wed in 2005 at Montreal’s Sainte-Madeleine d'Outremont Church.  CBC News reported that as she entered the church, she told the crowd outside, "I'm the luckiest woman in the world."

They went on to have three children: Xavier, Ella-Grace, and Hadrien. After 18 years together, they announced their separation in August 2023.

“It hurts deeply. You know, marriage is ‘success.’ Separation and divorce are ‘failure,’” Sophie reflected on Next Question with Katie Couric earlier this year.

Before she was Canada’s most-watched political spouse, Gregoire was already carving out her own lane. Fluent in three languages — French, English, and Spanish — she worked as a reporter and correspondent for CTV’s eTalk, building a strong media career long before her marriage put her under the global lens.

She’s also been open about her personal battles. “Addictions are biochemical imbalances of the brain. Eating was my only way of controlling my life, or so I thought,” she said in a 2011 interview with Erica Diamond, discussing her recovery from bulimia nervosa.

Today, Gregoire channels those experiences into advocacy for mental health and emotional well-being, partnering with the Canadian Mental Health Association and speaking on self-acceptance and resilience.

Her 2024 book, Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other, dives into that very theme — exploring connection, emotional strength, and the courage to love without clinging.

Following Justin Trudeau’s decision to step back from political leadership earlier this year, both seem to be charting separate — but intentional — new chapters. Co-parenting remains their shared mission.