Albo was 'emotionally bruised' by divorce but new lover helped him heal

Anthony Albanese’s life has completely transformed, just years after his shock split from his partner of 30 years left him “emotionally bruised”.

Anthony Albanese has been open about struggling to come to terms with his marriage breakdown in 2019.

But, just a few years on the 59-year-old has completely transformed – finding love and turning his heartbreak into tears of joy as he became Australia's new Prime Minister.

Mr Albanese has been with his partner Jodie Haydon for two years, with the pair meeting just over a year after his separation from ex-wife Carmel Tebbutt.

In a recent interview with The Australian Women’s Weekly, Mr Albanese opened up about being left heartbroken when Ms Tebbutt abruptly ended their 30-year relationship at the start of 2019.

He told the magazine he was left “emotionally bruised” by the ordeal, but from what he has shared of his relationship with Ms Haydon, it seems he has since healed from that part of his life.

Anthony Albanese (C) kisses his partner Jodie Haydon (L) as son Nathan Albanese watches after winning the 2022 general election at the Federal Labour Reception in Sydney on May 21, 2022. (Photo by Wendell TEODORO / AFP)

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, told The Australian Women’s Weekly she wasn’t looking for a relationship at the time she met the Labor leader.

“I’d reached a point in my life where I was enjoying being single,” she said.

Anthony Albanese and his, partner of two years Jodie Haydon. Picture: Alana Landsberry/Are Media via NCA NewsWire

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

Ms Haydon told the magazine 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 ahead of the federal election.

Ms Haydon showed continued support for Mr Albanese’s election bid, even taking a jab Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the Public Service Association of NSW’s podcast.

The pair met in early 2020, just a year after his split from his wife. Picture: Rohan Thomson/Getty Images

Ms Haydon has a new role as Women’s Officer for the NSW Public Service Association, telling the union’s podcast of her disappointment in the Morrison Government for not implementing the 55 recommendations of the Jenkins report into sexual harassment.

“One of the things we could be doing is adopting Respect at Work, the 55 recommendations that the Jenkins report has delivered,” she said.

“You know, these steps are actionable, they’re tangible, but at the moment, they’re missing in action, we haven’t seen these implemented more broadly.’”

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.

Anthony Albanese his ex-wife Carmel Tebbutt. Picture: Gary Ramage

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 has been living in Sydney’s Inner West suburb of Marrickville with Nathan and their dog Toto but will now choose between Kirribilli House and the Lodge.

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.”

Mr Albanese with Carmel and son Nathan.

His childhood wasn’t always easy

Mr Albanese grew up with a single mother, living in public housing in Camperdown in Sydney’s Inner West.

His Irish mother Maryanne Ellery met his Italian father Carlo Albanese on a cruise ship in the 1960s, but the couple did not stay together.

When Maryanne returned home to Sydney pregnant, with the child’s father half a world away, she knew that the road ahead would not be easy.

After having her baby, she told people that his father had died in a car crash during her pregnancy.

She took on Carlo’s last name and gave it to her son, Anthony.

Mr Albanese has continually praised his mother for everything she gave up so that he could have a better life.

“Life wasn’t easy. A lot of things were uncertain, but one thing wasn’t – Maryanne’s determination that her son’s life would be better than her own,” the Labor leader’s website states.

“It was from Maryanne that Anthony learned the values of social justice and fairness.”

Sadly, in 2002 and his mother suffered a brain aneurysm on Mother’s Day and was rushed to hospital, where she died two weeks later.

For most of his life, Mr Albanese believed that his father had died before he was born.

It wasn’t until 2009 when he tracked him down in Italy, and discovered he had two half-siblings.

The Opposition Leader learnt early on that he would have to work hard to get to where he wanted to be.

He started working full-time at the Commonwealth Bank just weeks after finishing his HSC at his Catholic high school. He then switched to an evening and weekend job stacking shelves at Grace Bros department store, before landing a new job at Pancakes on the Rocks.

He worked throughout his years studying economics at Sydney University, where he met young people from privileged backgrounds for the first time, and discovered a world of possibility.

“I was the first person in my family to finish school, let alone go to university,” he told news.com.au in 2019 following the publication of his book Albanese: Telling it Straight.

“I’d never met anyone from the North Shore before.”