Background: Her father, who had lost a limb due to injury, passed away when she was 21. Her mother supported their family of seven by working as a cashier at an ice rink.
Who she is now: Senior journalist at *Paris Match*, France's highest-circulation magazine, and France's "quasi-First Lady."
Senior journalist Valérie Trierweiler probably never imagined that the number of times she interviewed others in the first half of her life would be far fewer than the number of times she'd be interviewed in the second half. Resembling classic Hollywood star Katharine Hepburn, Valérie became the globally watched "quasi-First Lady" after her boyfriend, François Hollande, was elected President of France. Hollande was jokingly dubbed by the French public as the "President with Three No's": no experience, no distinctive traits, no wife. Valérie, too, is the genuine "girlfriend with Three No's": no background, no social standing, no patron. Yet, Valérie solemnly told the media, "I'm not Cinderella." She also declared her intention to follow in Hillary Clinton's footsteps to redefine the image of France's First Lady.
**Children of the Poor Grow Up Fast**
Now 47, Valérie grew up in France's Loire Valley. Her father, injured in war and left an amputee, died when she was 21. Her mother, a former housewife, started working as a cashier at an ice rink after her husband's death. With six siblings in such a family, young Valérie realized early on that only by becoming stronger could she change their circumstances. After graduating with a degree in history and politics, Valérie, with no influential connections, entered the fiercely competitive Parisian journalism scene. She steadily rose to become a senior reporter at *Paris Match*, covering the Socialist Party. Since 2005, she has also hosted political talk and interview shows on television.
Actually, Valérie and Hollande first met over a decade ago during a French parliamentary election. The 34-year-old Hollande, a rising political star in the French Socialist Party after being elected to the National Assembly, failed to win the heart of the beauty then. They met again in 2005 and unexpectedly fell deeply in love. "I instantly fell madly in love with this chubby, bespectacled Socialist," Valérie recalled. By then, Valérie had already endured two failed marriages and was raising three teenage children alone. Yet this didn't stop the romance between Hollande and Valérie. They secretly dated for five years, until Valérie finally went public in 2010 as Hollande's "official girlfriend."
**Not Wanting to Be the Star**
After learning her boyfriend had won the election, Valérie tweeted on her social media: "I am honored to accompany the next President of the French Republic, and I've always been happy sharing life with François." During the heated election campaign, compared to the former "First Lady" Bruni, a former supermodel beauty, Valérie's status as a top-tier political journalist made her even more intriguing to the press. However, Valérie had no desire to be the main character. She refused media interviews, believing they should not divert attention from the election.
Valérie is usually seen wearing her signature dark sunglasses, giving an aloof impression, and her personality appears somewhat haughty, even cold. Those who dislike her call her "the diva," "the duchess," or "the princess." At least twice, radio comedy shows have portrayed her as a Rottweiler dog. Valérie merely laughed it off: "I quite like that nickname." Facing various external criticisms, she responded calmly: "It's actually just shyness, but people accuse me of being standoffish, which of course worries me a little. But it's nothing. Since I might be the president's partner, I have to accept all of this."
Even regarding her former employer, *Paris Match*, Valérie disliked the magazine casually exposing her "privacy." When she discovered her close-up photo on the front page with the headline "Valérie—Hollande's Charming Trump Card," she deeply felt used. "Finding my photo in the newspaper I work for is truly astonishing. Without my consent, and without prior notice, I'm angry," she wrote on Twitter.
**The President's Strong Support**
"I'm an engaged observer. I want to stay behind the scenes and observe what's happening." As a renowned journalist with sharp news instincts and independent thinking, Valérie is the most elegant yet powerful force behind Hollande. Hollande has publicly declared to the media more than once, "Valérie is the woman of my life"; even in his phone contacts, he affectionately refers to Valérie as "my love."
Hollande's campaign team knows it's wise to consult Valérie before making any decisions. She is Hollande's most protective advisor—Valérie calls him several times a day, and no matter how busy he is, he listens attentively to his girlfriend. On Valérie's advice, Hollande has lost weight, ditched his old-fashioned horn-rimmed glasses, and transformed from a slovenly figure into someone who now exudes "presidential demeanor." After training, his new, rhythmic speaking style even reminded many left-wing supporters of the late Mitterrand, and his approval ratings rose accordingly.
Before the election vote, Valérie described a "simple and approachable" image of Hollande to a reporter from France's *Libération*: his girlfriend Valérie buys clothes at ordinary markets and searches under her son's bed for discarded socks; he personally shops, cooks, and has the "bad habit" of opening cabinets without closing them, and never closes the door when entering a room. This habit shows he "has nothing to hide." Crafting this image relied on Valérie's years of media experience—even though she never publicly used her TV programs for "personal gain." Regardless, she truly is a wise woman who understands public psychology.
**Not Giving Up Her Journalism Career**
Valérie once gained fame in the French media for delivering a slap. A colleague made a sexist comment in front of her, and the feminist Valérie, enraged, immediately delivered a loud slap without hesitation. Because of such conduct in her work and personal life, Valérie, who raised her three sons independently, has been respectfully called the "heir to the Iron Lady" by French media.
In March, Hollande told the media that even if he won the election, he wouldn't marry. Thus, France not only has a rare "unmarried" president, but Valérie might also fail to become France's "First Lady." Yet the determined Valérie declared during the presidential campaign that even if Hollande became President of France, she wouldn't give up her journalism career, though she would no longer cover political topics. Her decisive work style and her "successful transformation" of President Hollande have earned Valérie very high approval from the French public.
"When speaking with her, people can't predict her reaction. It frightens me. I'll try my best to avoid talking to her," one of Hollande's aides described Valérie as a "tigress." Yet, this is precisely Valérie's irreplaceable advantage: for a common girl without a background to successfully win the president's love while staying true to herself, she indeed needs the fierce spirit of a "tigress" to make it happen.