Valerie Trierweiler Is The New French First Lady: Will She Fill Carla Bruni's Shoes?

Nicolas Sarkozy lost his presidential re-election bid in France to Francois Hollande on Sunday by a narrow margin -- 48.3 percent of the popular vote to the victor's 51.7 percent. While the new presidency means political change for the country, it also means a new first lady. Her name is Valerie Trierweiler, Hollande's girlfriend, and she is cut from a different cloth than France's soon-to-be former Premiere Femme, Carla Bruni.

While Bruni is known for her glamorous career, luxurious lifestyle and regular appearances in tabloid headlines, many know Trierweiler as a normal working woman. During the campaign, she promised that she would keep working as a journalist. That would make her the first working first lady of France. For more than 20 years Trierweiler has covered French politics for Paris Match magazine and has hosted a political show on cable television. She is also a twice-divorced mother of three who says she needed to work to support her children. 

Bruni, who became Sarkozy's third wife in 2008, used to be an Italian model making more than $6 million a year. She is also the millionaire heiress to CEAT, an Italian tire manufacturing company. After ending her modeling career in 1997, Bruni pursued a career in music, releasing three albums between 2002 and 2010.

In more recent years, Bruni has tried to soften her privileged image. After old nude modeling pictures surfaced, Bruni has thrown herself into charity work. Among the many causes and areas she supports are AIDS care, animal rights and education.

After enjoying some hard-won privacy after the birth of her daughter, Bruni is back in the tabloids again. The French first lady has been seen with a noticeably more puffy face, sparking Botox rumors. She has also dyed her hair and cut it into a new style.

Nicolas Sarkozy lost his presidential reelection bid in France to Francois Hollande on Sunday with only 48.4 percent of the votes to Hollande's 51.7 percent. While the new presidency means some sweeping changes for the country, it also means there will be a new first lady. Her name is Valerie Trierweiler, Hollande's girlfriend, and she is cut from a different cloth than France's soon-to-be former Premiere Femme, Carla Bruni.

Bruni's previous relationships have also been a subject of tabloid fodder. Sarkozy and Bruni had a very public whirlwind romance before they married in February 2008: The couple met in November 2007, when the ink was barely dry on the newly elected Sarkozy's divorce papers.

While living with Jean-Paul Enthoven, Bruni began having an affair with his son, Raphael Enthoven. In 2001, Bruni and Raphael Enthoven welcomed a son, Aurélien. Bruni later said that she never had a relationship with Jean-Paul Enthoven. At the time Bruni and Raphael Enthoven started their romance, Enthoven was married to Justine Levy. Enthoven and Levy ended their marriage in 2004. Bruni has also been linked to Louis Bertignac, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Léos Carax, Charles Berling, Arno Klarsfeld, Vincent Perez and former French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius.

It is not known exactly when Hollande and Trierweiler got together. Some reports say that the two started dating in 2005, while Hollande was still living with 2007 Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal, with whom he had a 30-year unmarried relationship and four children. Hollande has also said that he and Trierweiler would not marry just because he has been elected president.

You do not get married just for reasons of protocol, Hollande said.

Although the presidential election is over, the jury is still out on which first lady the French will prefer: Carla Bruni with her posh, headline-making lifestyle or Trierweiler, who likes to browse flea markets, spend time with her children and leave the cooking up to the new president of France.