Marriage to Nicolas Sarkozy
Bruni met recently divorced French president Nicolas Sarkozy in November 2007 at a dinner party. After a brief romance they married on 2 February 2008 at the Élysée Palace in Paris. The marriage is Bruni's first and Sarkozy's third. Bruni obtained French nationality not long afterwards. She has since made contradictory statements as to whether she still holds Italian nationality as well.
"First Lady" of France
Following her marriage to Sarkozy, in February 2008, Bruni continued accompanying him on state visits, including to the United Kingdom in March 2008, which created a sensation in the international press and the public in the UK and France. She has an office and staff at her disposal in the East wing of the Élysée Palace.
There was controversy on the eve of the state visit to the UK, with the publication by Christie's auction house of a nude photograph of Bruni taken during her career as a model.The photograph sold for $91,000.There was also great interest in Bruni's wardrobe, which was Christian Dior, seen as a diplomatic choice, being a French design house designed by John Galliano, a British designer.Another controversy was the use of a popular photo of the French President and Bruni in the print advertising of Ryanair. The couple was awarded damages by a French court which they donated to Les Restos du Cœur, an organisation which provides meals to the homeless.
Bruni-Sarkozy met the Dalai Lama in August 2008 at a Buddhist temple on a hill in Languedoc, France.Another important event for Bruni was the reception of Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to France in September 2008.Bruni visited New York City in September 2008 with her husband, where she attended a meeting on poverty and female mortality with Queen Rania and Wendi Murdoch, met for lunch with First Lady Laura Bush at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Symposium on Advancing Global Literacy and attended the General Assembly in the UN with her husband.
In December 2008, Bruni sued the makers of a bag featuring a nude shot of the French first lady taken during her supermodelling youth. Clothes designer Pardon has produced 10,000 of the shopping bags emblazoned with the nude photo taken in 1993, showing Bruni staring at the camera with her crossed hands covering her crotch.
In April 2009, Carla was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Carlos III on the occasion of the couple's Spanish State Visit.
She has been critical of Pope Benedict XVI on the controversial topic of religion and AIDS.
