PM Albanese announces on social media that his girlfriend said ‘Yes’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took to social media to announce his engagement to longtime partner Jodie Haydon on Valentine’s Day – but what is the history of this romantic day?
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Anthony Albanese has proposed* to his partner Jodie Haydon on Valentines Day.
In the middle of a parliamentary sitting week in Canberra, Mr Albanese popped the question to his girlfriend of four years at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Canberra.
Honouring his Italian roots, Wednesday’s romantic evening started with a dinner at the acclaimed* Italian and Sons restaurant in the capital.
After the pair returned to the Lodge, the Prime Minister proposed with a gold and diamond ring he had specially designed for Ms Haydon.
In a joint statement, the PM and Ms Haydon said: “We are thrilled and excited to share this news and look forward to spending the rest of our lives together”.
“We are so lucky to have found each other,” the statement said.
The PM first shared the news on Thursday morning with a photo of the happily engaged pair and the caption “she said yes”.
Mr Albanese’s colleagues congratulated the PM on social media following his announcement, with Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong saying, “love is a beautiful thing, I’m so happy for you both!”
ALBO AND JODIE: WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
The Prime Minister has previously revealed he and Ms Haydon initially discussed their love for the South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL team, before finding they “got on pretty well” after catching up for a drink.
The pair’s shared interests also include being loyal “Swifties”, with Mr Albanese saying he planned to attend one of Taylor Swift’s Sydney concerts with his now-fiancee*.
Ms Haydon has attended major world leader summits with Mr Albanese in the almost two years since he was elected prime minister.
The pair managed to fit in a lunch date in Paris when Mr Albanese was visiting in 2022 to meet French President Emmanuel Macron.
In 2023 Mr Albanese joked it would be hard for future date nights top a state dinner* at the White House, hosted by US President Joe Biden.
Ms Haydon attended the coronation* of King Charles, and also travelled with Mr Albanese on parts of the 2022 election trail when he was Opposition leader.
HISTORY OF VALENTINE’S DAY
Valentine’s Day is a holiday that people celebrate on February 14 each year. It is also called Saint Valentine’s Day.
On Valentine’s Day people greet loved ones, close friends, family members and classmates by sending them cards called “valentines”.
People also give chocolates, flowers and other gifts to loved ones. Valentine’s Day gifts often come packed in a red, heart-shaped box.
People have celebrated some form of Valentine’s Day with expressions and declarations* of love since at least the 1300s.
According to an old European legend, February 14 is the day when birds pair off each year to start their new families.
February 14 is called Valentine’s Day because the Roman Catholic Church honours two saints named Valentine on that day. Both Saint Valentines were Ancient Romans of the 200s CE, or Common Era*, who died for their Christian faith.
The first of these is believed to have defied* Roman Emperor Cladius II by performing marriage ceremonies for soldiers, who were banned from taking a wife because the emperor believed single men performed better in battle.
He was eventually caught and later killed on February 14 in the year 270 CE for disobeying the emperor.
Just before he died, Valentine supposedly wrote the first-ever “valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, with whom he’d fallen in love.
It was much later, in the 5th century, that Pope Gelasius I declared the day of his death as St Valentine’s Day.
The day also has ancient pagan* roots that predate* Valentine’s birth. Coincidentally held in February, groups of young Roman men and women once held a festival to bring new couples together by drawing names from a box. The pairs would stay together during the festival and some would actually get married when the festival was over.
Source: Britannica Kids, National Geographic Kids
POLL
GLOSSARY
- proposed: one member of a couple asked the other if they would like to get married
- acclaimed: has public approval and praise, is well known for being excellent
- fiancee: a woman engaged to be married is called this by her partner
- state dinner: a formal and elaborate formal dinner honouring a visiting head of government or reigning monarch
- coronation: ceremony to crown a king or queen
- declarations: announcements, pronouncements, statements
- Common Era: the period since the birth of Jesus Christ, when the Christian calendar starts counting years
- defied: went against, rebelled against,
- pagan: spiritual beliefs and practices other than those of Judaism, Islam and Christianity
- predate: come before
EXTRA READING
Sad love story behind Valentine’s Day
Albo on diplomatic dating circuit
QUICK QUIZ
- How long have the PM and Jodie Haydon been a couple?
- Which two shared interests are mentioned in the article?
- Future date nights might struggle to top what special evening the happy couple attended?
- What did Saint Valentine do to earn the ire of Roman Emperor Cladius II?
- What did the earlier pagan festival involve?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Help the PM!
Can you think of a date night for the Prime Minister and his new fiancee that would be even better than a state dinner at the White House? Write some suggestions for Anthony Albanese! Use information in the story to give you some ideas, and think of some other fantastic things that you think that they could do.
Time: allow at least 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
2. Extension
“Valentine’s Day has nothing to do with love – it’s just another way to make people spend money!”
Write three arguments or detailed points for and three arguments or detailed points against this statement.
Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social Capability
VCOP ACTIVITY
BAB it!
Show you have read and understood the article by writing three sentences using the connectives “because’’, “and”, and “but” (BAB). Your sentences can share different facts or opinions, or the same ones but written about in different ways.
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