How Brigitte Macron fell for ‘crazy boy’ in daughter’s class as kids reveal why they backed her… & slam ‘born male’ slur

WHEN Brigitte Macron first fell for the French President she was his teacher - and he was a schoolboy in the same class as her daughter.

Their affair sparked a huge scandal and even now, decades later, an army of vicious trolls and conspiracy theorists are still set on making her life hell.

A torrent of fresh online abuse has ramped up in recent days following a shock court ruling in which judges made the startling decision to allow outlandish claims that Brigitte, 72, was "born a man" and had "sexually abused" her future husband when he was a boy.

Brigitte and her husband, President Emmanuel, 47, have been forced to defend the wicked slurs.

Their marriage was already under pressure as the First Lady was recently seen appearing to ignore - and even shoving - her husband.

But the couple had hoped the end of this long-running and increasingly bitter legal wrangle would finally bring a close to the years of torment they have endured.

Instead the new ruling this week led to a fresh wave of hate, and sources say Madame Macron is "absolutely devastated".

The Paris Appeal Court sensationally cleared two of her biggest critics - Amandine Roy, a 53-year-old clairvoyant, and blogger Natacha Rey, 49.

The pair had posted a video on YouTube in December 2021 making a series of poisonous claims which led to them initially being found guilty of libel when Brigitte first took action against them.

But the pair fought back and won their latest challenge, with the court deciding the claims were "made in good faith" and were already in the public domain.

Throughout the agonising ordeal, Brigitte has had the loyal support of the three children she shares with her first husband, banker André-Louis Auzière, who died  in 2019.

Her daughter Tiphaine furiously laid into the women at the centre of the row, who claimed that her mother was a trans woman whose name at birth was Jean-Michel - the name of Brigitte's brother.

Tiphaine said at the time: “I don’t feel any pain, just anger at the misinformation.

"I worry about the level of society when I hear what is circulating on social networks about my mother being a man.

“Anyone can say anything about anyone, and it takes time to get it withdrawn.”

Tiphaine likened her mum's fight for justice to Kate Middleton's brave cancer battle when arguing she was right to use the law to challenge the relentless onslaught of online misinformation about her.

Last year Tiphaine praised the way Kate had handled intense pressure from the public to reveal the reason she underwent surgery. 

Tiphaine said: "You have the really clear victims like my mother and the Princess of Wales, and then you have others who have been whipped up and muddled by the misinformation.

"I was so incredibly touched by Kate's video. I found it so moving.

"There she is, asking people to leave her alone so that she can get on with her medical treatment in peace.

'But it really touched me. I thought she was so brave to do that. Because in the end she was forced to do it; there was so much pressure. 

"This, despite her having so many more important things to think about, yet everything was polluted with fake news, each piece of misinformation worse than the one before."

Colourful love life

The age gap between Brigitte and her second husband continues to raise eyebrows, but Tiphaine, 41, has a pretty colourful love life of her own.

It emerged in March that she is allegedly dating a "bearded bad boy" who blames her stepfather for axing his controversial TV show that peddled conspiracy theories.

Tiphaine's rumoured lover, Cyril Hanouna, 50, is the former host of Don't Touch My TV Set, a sensationalist hard right talk show which was cancelled earlier this year. 

But Hanouna, whose nickname is Baba, railed against Macron after the French media watchdog Arcom decided not to renew the licence for Channel C8, which broadcast his shock-jock show.

Some cynical commentators have even suggested he is only dating Tiphaine out of a desire for revenge.

News of the couple's whirlwind romance is said to have shocked the Presidential Palace. 

Tiphaine, a lawyer and writer, is the mother of two children, aged eight and nine, with consultant physician Antoine Choteau, although it is thought the couple broke things off in January this year.

La Pointe magazine said the timing of the romance was too suspicious for it to be authentic, and quoted a source close to Hanouna, who cast doubt on the relationship after they were spotted at a restaurant together.

They said: "There are no revealing photos in the report. And frankly, Cyril very often invites certain members of the team to dinner in the evening, after the show, it's his habit. It's nothing new."

Another source pointed out that the pair left the restaurant separately and said that the TV personality seemed "more intent on eating his pasta" than showing any signs of affection to his date.

Users on social media have also floated the theory that the entire relationship was made up to distract viewers' attention away from a newly-released 2023 recording of Cyril allegedly insulting and threatening violence towards a columnist on his show.

The show had already come under fire for homophobia, racial insults and out of control political brawls.

Scandalous affair

Back in 1974, long before any of today's controversies, Brigitte married Tiphaine’s father.

At first Brigitte appeared to be every inch the picture perfect wife and mother, with three children and a prestigious job at a local private school.

But their idyllic family life was blown apart when she had a scandalous affair with a pupil.

Her children - Laurence, now a cardiologist, Sebastian, an engineer, and Tiphaine - had their life rocked to the core when Brigitte, then a literature teacher at La Providence school in the city of Amiens, fell for Emmanuel.

She was 42 and he was just 15 years old. 

They met when he was a member of her French and Latin classes and grew closer when Emmanuel joined Brigitte's drama club.

Tiphaine was just nine years old when she made the startling discovery that her mother was having a fling with a schoolboy.

She recalled Laurence coming home from school one day and announcing: "Mummy, there is a crazy boy in our class who knows everything about everything."

Brigitte was said to be instantly captivated by that boy's "exceptional intelligence".

She gushed that Emmanuel was so gifted that it was as though "I was working with Mozart".

Instantly captivated

But it was a tough time for the kids - Tiphaine later revealed how she had to endure judgement and "backbiting" as news of the scandalous romance spread like wildfire around their local community.

She recalled: "The attacks, the backbiting, the judgements. It was not yet the era of social networks, but we were in a small provincial town. Everything is known."

Years later Paris Match magazine reported: "Young Emmanuel often rang the bell at the Auzière home and the rumours grew.

"Rumours which naturally had an impact on the three children of the household."

In a bid to quash the budding romance, Emmanuel's alarmed parents took drastic action.

He was sent away to study in Paris by his concerned parents – both doctors – but he always told Brigitte: "Whatever you do, I will marry you."

The couple finally wed in 2007, a decade before Mr Macron sensationally came from nowhere to win the French presidency as an independent candidate.

His sexuality became an attack point for political enemies, with some claiming his wife was a "cover" for a secret gay life.

Brigitte revealed in November 2023 that she had put off marrying Emmanuel for ten years out of concern for her children, adding that she suspected he would “fall in love with someone his own age".

“The only obstacle was my children,” she told Paris Match. “I took time so I would not wreck their lives. That lasted 10 years, the time to put them on the rails.

"You can imagine what they were hearing. But I didn’t want to miss out on my life.”

But Tiphaine has never held a grudge against her mother or stepfather for their age gap relationship.

She said previously: “A family break-up can be both a heartbreak and an opportunity. Mixing families together can be enriching.

"I have an adored mother and stepfather."