Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife Sophie Gregoire tells CTV News in a year-end interview that she has learned ways to deal with criticism and hopes to pass those lessons on to girls.
"Am I completely indifferent to criticism? No, not at all,” she tells CTV Chief Anchor Lisa LaFlamme. “But I know who I am and I have learned to respect and care for who I am."
Gregoire has been open in the past about her struggle with bulimia, which she said lasted from about age 17 until she got treatment in her early 20s. She says she has continued to grow during her first year in the national spotlight.
• Watch “A Conversation with the Prime Minister,” on Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV.
Gregoire says she urges girls to have an “inner conversation” on a daily basis to assess whether they are living a healthy lifestyle.
She says they should ask themselves questions like: “Who are you? Are you kind to yourself? Are you compassionate or are you always criticizing yourself?”
She says girls should also reflect on how much they exercise, what they eat and ask, “does it make you feel good?”
Gregoire said during the interview that she and her husband, like all married couples, “have arguments, of course we do, but we really try to be constructive in the comments that we allow.”
Among the criticism Gregoire has faced was the backlash over her decision to break out into song at an event marking Martin Luther King Day in Ottawa.
The Trudeaus were also called out by the opposition Conservatives for having two nannies on the federal payroll. After the outcry, they dismissed one of them.
Considering her mission to build self-care skills in girls, Gregoire may find an ally in incoming U.S. first lady Melania Trump, who has said she hopes to use her fame to combat cyberbullying of women and children.
With a report from CTV’s Glen McGregor
