FRANCE:Cecilia Sarkozy says her marriage to French president Nicolas Sarkozy failed because she hated life in the limelight.
"For him it's like a violinist who has been given a Stradivarius - suddenly he has the chance to practise his art," she told L'Est Républicain regional daily in a lengthy interview published yesterday. "It's not the same thing for me."
Mr Sarkozy's office announced on Thursday that the couple had divorced after 11 years of marriage, dealing a blow to the French leader just six months after he was elected.
"We tried everything, I tried everything. But it just wasn't possible anymore . . . Public life doesn't suit me," Ms Sarkozy said.
"I am someone who likes to be in the shadows, who likes serenity, tranquillity," she added. Mrs Sarkozy, who this week posed for a photo spread in Paris Match magazine, said the couple were just like any other facing difficulties in their marriage.
"What happened to me has happened to millions of people: one day you no longer have your place in the couple," she said.
"It's no longer the essential thing in your life. It no longer works. The reasons are inexplicable. It happens to lots of people."
The couple have a 10-year-old son and they each have two children from previous marriages. Mrs Sarkozy said she planned to spend more time with her family.
The confirmation of their separation, after months of speculation, has grabbed newspaper headlines, knocking transport strikes off the front page. But a CSA poll found that 92 per cent of French people had not changed their opinion of Mr Sarkozy because of the divorce.