Sarkozy to marry Carla Bruni next month

French President Nicolas Sarkozy may marry former supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni next month, a local newspaper said Sunday.

Photo: Sarkozy to marry Carla Bruni next month

The pair is expected to get married on Feb. 8 or 9, according to several sources, the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche said.

The report said that Sarkozy gave a heart-shaped, pink-diamond ring to Bruni in December, according to the AP.

On 23 September 1982, he married Marie-Dominique Culioli, daughter of a pharmacist from Vico (a village north of Ajaccio, Corsica). They have two sons, Pierre (born in 1985) and Jean (born in 1987). Sarkozy divorced Culioli in 1996, although they had already been separated for several years.

As mayor of Neuilly, Sarkozy met Cécilia Ciganer-Albeniz (great-granddaughter of composer Isaac Albéniz and of a Russian father), when he officiated at her wedding to TV host Jacques Martin.  Sarkozy married her in October 1996 (with witnesses Martin Bouygues and Bernard Arnault). They have one son, Louis, born 23 April 1997.

Between 2002 and 2005, the couple often appeared together on public occasions, with Cécilia Sarkozy acting as the chief aide for her husband.

In January 2006, a reconciliation took place. In early 2006, Sarkozy suggested to the press that he had welcomed his wife back from the USA, although the exact circumstances of the reconciliation are not known.

On 18 October 2007, the presidential office announced that the Sarkozys had divorced by mutual consent (divorce par consentement mutuel) on 15 October. It is of interest to note that she could not have filed a divorce case against him, due to his presidential immunity.