Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Separates From Long-Term Partner Due to Explicit Remarks

Meloni announced her separation on social media (Wikimedia Commons)

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced her separation from long term partner Andrea Giambruno on October 20. Meloni’s announcement came days after a video of Giambruno, a TV anchor for the conservative media company Mediaset, was leaked, in which he was captured inappropriately touching himself and requesting sexual acts from his co-host. Giambruno was also criticized for inappropriate comments regarding a sexual assault case in August 2023. The announcement came as a surprise to many spectators considering Meloni’s emphasis on traditional family values during both her campaign and prime ministership.

In her post on X, Meloni thanked Giambruno for the 10 years they had spent together. She emphasized prioritizing the well-being of their seven-year-old daughter after the separation, a sentiment stemming from her own childhood experience with an absent father. Meloni explained that her and Giambruno’s paths had diverged and that she thought it was time to acknowledge this, omitting any mention of Giambruno’s inflammatory remarks. The prime minister’s announcement was bookended by a notice to political opponents that the separation would not weaken her political stability and resolve.

Meloni and Giambruno’s separation has been viewed by some as a particularly relevant event in Italian politics given Meloni’s efforts to promote traditional family values and boost Italy’s falling birth rates. These policies have evoked both international and domestic praise and criticism. Meloni’s provision of subsidies to families and emphasis on the importance of her own motherhood to her identity has widely been applauded. However, her rhetoric has been accompanied by a series of anti-LGBT laws limiting the parental rights of same-sex couples in Italy. Meloni’s decision to separate from Giambruno also removes a political liability for her and her party, the Brothers of Italy, as opponents have used Giambruno’s remarks to score points over Meloni.

While some of Meloni’s political opponents used the separation to urge her to stop imposing her view of a “traditional family” on Italians, others offered their support during the difficult time. Although both Italian and international media have maintained their focus on the separation and its implications for Meloni’s policies on family, only time will tell how Meloni’s decision will impact her political path.