Anthony Albanese’s partner Jodie Haydon lifts lid on relationship

Anthony Albanese’s partner Jodie Haydon has lifted the lid on their relationship and how she made her first move.

Anthony Albanese’s partner Jodie Haydon has lifted the lid on their relationship, as the Labor leader continues his campaign for the upcoming Federal Election.

Ms Haydon made her debut on her partner’s election campaign trail on Good Friday – but in a surprise twist, she was shielded from reporters due to a last-minute Covid scare.

The Labor leader was joined by Ms Haydon during a visit to an aged care home in Bundaberg in Queensland on Friday afternoon.

But after several reporters following Mr Albanese’s campaign tested positive to the virus, the decision was made to bar all but a handful of photographers and camera people from attending the event in order to protect vulnerable elderly residents – meaning journalists weren’t allowed anywhere near her.

It was a frustrating delay for the media, who had been waiting to catch a glimpse of the 43-year-old after the pair shared details of their blossoming relationship with the Women’s Weekly in February.

Today’s appearance would have been the first sight of Ms Haydon since she visited the Royal Easter Show with Albanese on Sunday, a day before his official campaign kicked off.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with News Corp investigations editor Ellen Whinnett this week, Ms Haydon shared snippets of her previously closed-doors relationship with the opposition leader.

“I slid into his DMs,’’ Haydon confessed.

Anthony Albanese’s partner Jodie Haydon shared a few details about their relationship.

The Labor leader was joined by Ms Haydon during a visit to an aged care home in Bundaberg in Queensland on Friday afternoon - but was shielded from reporters due to a last-minute Covid scare. Picture: Toby Zerna

“He had a public profile and I didn’t, so I knew that we both followed the same footy team, we both had a love for the inner west and I think I said in that direct message ‘hey, we’re both single.’

“In some ways I think I said that...just more so that he would feel comfortable in my company.’’

Ms Haydon said she wasn’t expecting to find love and admitted she was took by surprise at how well they hit it off.

“I had been single for a long time when I met Anthony,’’ she said.

“I certainly thought – and I don’t mean this to sound pathetic – but I honestly thought love wasn’t going to happen for me. I’d gotten to the point in my life where I was really happy with my career.

“I was happy being single and I remember people would always say ‘oh it will happen when you least expect it’ and I used to find it patronising.

“I’d think yeah, okay. And I’m not here to say it’s a fairy-tale but genuinely, when we met, I certainly didn’t have expectations that it was going to be a relationship.”

In an earlier interview with the Australian Women’s Weekly, the Labor leader provided a glimpse of the toll the split with his partner of 30 years (married for 19), former NSW deputy premier Carmel Tebbutt.

He told the magazine he was left emotionally bruised by the sudden departure of his wife.

The pair hit it off after Ms Haydon yelled ‘up the Rabbitohs’ at a Melbourne event.

How new partner helped him heal

Mr Albanese met Ms Haydon at an event in Melbourne in 2020.

He said he had asked if there were any South Sydney fans in the audience, to which “Jodie yelled out, ‘Up the Rabbitohs’”.

After he introduced himself Mr Albanese found out she also lived a couple of suburbs away in his electorate of Marrickville.

Ms Haydon, a strategic partnership manager for an industry super fund, said she wasn’t looking for a relationship at the time she met the Labor leader.

The pair were first spotted together kissing at an up-market Sydney restaurant in June 2020.

Ms Haydon told Women’s Weekly she didn’t realise how strong her feelings for Mr Albanese were until he was involved in a life-threatening car crash.

In January 2022 Mr Albanese was driving home to Marrickville when he a 17-year-old Range Rover driver veered onto the wrong side of the road and crashed into the Labor Leader.

“I saw the mess of a car before I saw him and thought, ‘He couldn’t survive this,’” Ms Haydon said.

“It was very scary, and in that moment, you realise just how much you love this person, the fear of losing them.”

Mr Albanese credits the crash with giving him the drive to reassess his life, shedding more than 18 kilograms.

New Year’s Day split that ‘blindsided’ Albo

Mr Albanese said he was “blindsided” when Ms Tebbutt, former NSW deputy premier, decided to end their 30-year relationship on New Year’s Day, 2019.

He publicly announced their split just a few days later, saying he was “deeply saddened” by their separation.

“We will continue to share parenting responsibilities for our 18-year-old son Nathan, who has successfully complete his HSC and has developed into an outstanding young man who we are both proud of,” Mr Albanese said in a statement at the time.

He said no third parties were involved and asked for their privacy to be respected.

Mr Albanese and Ms Tebbutt met in Young Labor during the late 1980s and married in 2000. They were quickly dubbed Labor’s “power couple”, with the pair both going from strength to strength in their political careers.

The Labor leader told ABC radio earlier this year that he “didn’t see it coming” when his ex-wife ended their marriage.

“I found it very tough. The relationship was 30 years old,” he said.

Mr Albanese now lives in Sydney’s Inner West suburb of Marrickville with Nathan and their dog Toto.

Speaking to news.com.au in 2019, Mr Albanese said he and his son were close, adding Nathan still spends time with his mum.

“Yeah, he spends time at his mother’s as well,” he said.

“We are very close, and I try to make sure I’m sitting down with him and having quality time and talking about how he’s going.

“I tried to make sure I was there for things like the weekend sporting fixtures. Spending time with him was sacred.”

Originally published as Anthony Albanese’s partner Jodie Haydon lifts lid on relationship