Valerie Trierweiler and President Francois Hollande during a visit to New Delhi in 2013.
The former partner of French President Francois Hollande says in a new interview that she felt like she was “falling from a skyscraper” when she learned of his alleged affair.
Valerie Trierweiler said in the interview published Thursday in Paris Match magazine that she had heard rumors about the alleged affair with an actress, but paid no attention before the latest allegations surfaced in news reports more than two weeks ago. Hollande announced the couple’s split on Saturday, and Trierweiler was briefly hospitalized after that.
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Trierweiler, a journalist at Paris Match for years, left for India the next day on a charity trip.
“It’s not because I’m no longer the first lady that life has to stop,” she told Paris Match.
She said there had already been a “detachment” between her and Hollande, who has neither confirmed nor denied the affair.
(MORE: Why France is turning up its nose at Valerie Trierweiler)