C'est officiel ! French president announces split from first girlfriend

C'est fini! The triangle love involving François Hollande ,59, Valérie Trierweiler ,48, and Julie Gayet ,41, is

over. The French president has just called it quits.

In a telephone conversation this evening to the news agency AFP (Agence France-Presse), Hollande said :

« Je fais savoir que j'ai mis fin à la vie commune que je partageais avec Valérie Trierweiler »  

« I wish to make it known that I have ended the life together that I shared with Valerie Trierweiler » 

The announcement came two weeks after it was reported that he was having an affair with a French actress who lives 60 yards from the presidential palace.

Hollande, who has never denied having an affair with Julie Gayet, has admitted to a "difficult moment" in his relationship with Trierweiler.

Julie Gayet

Trierweiler was admitted to hospital on the day of the affair revelations suffering from what was described as a “coup de blues” – or emotional exhaustion. She spent a week in hospital  and since her departure, she has been staying at an official residence, La Lanterne, near Versailles.

Hollande and Trierweiler had lived together since 2007 following the break-up of his previous relationship with Ségolène Royal, a former socialist presidential candidate, his partner for some 25 years and mother of his four children. He never married either Trierweiler or Royal.

Trierweiler, a twice-divorced mother of three, was Hollande's intimate political advisor, she was key in remaking his image and guiding him to election success. She moved into the Elysée Palace with Hollande after he won the presidential election in 2012. 

Trierweiler assumed the role of First Lady with a taxpayer-funded office. She accompanied Hollande on foreign trips and had been due to go with him on a state visit to the White House next month.