Bruni ‘won’t help Sarkozy forget me’
Nicolas Sarkozy’s former wife has told friends that the French president’s relationship with Carla Bruni will not help him get over her.
Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz, divorced from the president in October, said she did not think “Carla Bruni is the one who will make him forget her in a hurry”.
The barb, published in a new book Rupture, will no doubt irritate Bruni, coming just a day after Sarkozy, 52, hinted he intended to marry her.
Glossy weekly Gala Wednesday published pictures of Bruni, 40, wearing two heart-shaped diamond Dior rings - one of which appears to be identical to Cecilia’s engagement ring.
The rings are believed to be engagement gifts and, the magazine said, the couple had spent 80,000 euros (Dh431,842) on each other since they started dating in late November.
There are two books out this week about the former first couple. Cecilia: The Hidden Side of the ex-First Lady reveals that Sarkozy was secretly in hospital for three days after his divorce announcement, suffering from a throat abscess.
The revelation could prove embarrassing, as Sarkozy had promised to break with a presidential tradition of hushing up medical problems.
Meanwhile, the new couple’s unmarried idyll is posing problems of protocol. Saudi Arabian officials have asked that Bruni does not accompany the president on his trip there, as men and women who are not related or married are not permitted to be alone together.