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Macron's wife slapped him after 'seeing flirtatious texts with actor'
14 May 2026

A new book, "Un Couple (Presque) Parfait" by Florian Tardif, has claimed to shed light on the viral incident involving French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte.

The book claims that Brigitte slapped Macron after seeing flirtatious texts from Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani on his phone.

The incident took place aboard a presidential plane in Vietnam last May, when Brigitte appeared to slap and shove her husband in viral videos.

At the time, both dismissed it as harmless joking.

'Typical couple's scene'
Disputed claims

Tardif, a political journalist at Paris Match, said the couple's disagreement started after Brigitte allegedly saw messages between her husband and Farahani.

One particular message read, "I find you very pretty."

Tardif claimed that the much-older Mrs. Macron was fearful that her husband might leave her for the actress after seeing the texts.

The content of the texts is claimed to have gone "quite far," Tardif told RTL radio in interviews to promote his book.

Farahani has denied having an affair with Macron
Claims

Someone close to the couple told Tardif that Mrs. Macron read a "message that she was never meant to read," which led to a "longer...harsher dispute than usual."

"What hurt Brigitte was not so much the contents of the message as what it hinted at: a possibility...nothing tangible or that could really be denounced but the idea alone...was enough," an extract published in Paris Match read.

Farahani has denied having an affair with Macron and said their connection was "platonic."

'There was lot of turbulence during the flight'
Author

The author also reportedly interviewed Mrs. Macron for the book, who stated that she was "very tired" after difficult travel when asked about the incident.

"There was a lot of turbulence during the flight, which stopped me sleeping," she said. "Right then, I didn't want to get out [of the aircraft]. He tried to make me laugh. He gave me some water and I pushed him away."

Brigitte's representatives deny claims
Relationship defense

On Wednesday, Brigitte's representatives strongly denied Tardif's claims. They said she never checks her husband's phone and had directly denied the story to Tardif earlier this year.

"Brigitte Macron categorically denied this account directly to the author on March 5th, specifying that she never looks at her husband's mobile phone," a representative told Le Parisien.

Initially, officials from the Élysée Palace also downplayed the incident as a light-hearted moment before their trip.

Macron later admitted that the couple had been 'squabbling'
Public reaction

But Macron later admitted that the couple had been "squabbling" and that the attention to the slap was surprising to him.

"We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife," he told reporters at the time.

"I'm surprised by it, it turns into some kind of global catastrophe where people are even coming up with theories to explain it. It's nonsense," he said.