Andrea Giambruno: Italy PM Meloni's ex-partner under fire for sexist comments

Italy’s Prime Minister Georgia Meloni announced her separation from her partner - TV presenter Andrea Giambruno - on October 20. The news of their separation comes after Giambruno’s sexist comments went viral recently. However, Meloni has clearly stated that she must not be questioned for her husband’s comments. 

"My relationship with Andrea Giambruno, which lasted almost 10 years, ends here," 46-year old PM Meloni wrote on Facebook, informing about her separation. "Our paths have diverged for some time, and the time has come to acknowledge it," she added. Sharing a photo of herself with her ex-husband and their daughter, she thanked Giambruno for the “splendid years” they have spent together, said Meloni. 

Who is Meloni’s ex-partner?

Meloni and her partner, Andrea Giambruno, have been together for over a decade before getting separated and the couple has a seven-year-old daughter. Born in Milan, Giambruno is a TV presenter by profession and hosts a news programme aired by Mediaset, part of the MFE media group owned by the heirs of the late Silivo Berlusconi, the former premier and Meloni’s political ally. 

According to an article in the French newspaper Le Monde, Giambruno joined TV when he was 22 years old and studying at the Catholic University of Milan. They both met on a TV set and Giambruno recalls that Meloni had given him a half-eaten banana, thinking he was her assistant, before going for a show. He called their meeting “love at first sight”.

Giambruno faces heat over sexist comments 

Giambruno has been recently embroiled in multiple controversies over him passing sexist comments to his colleagues and other females both on-air and off-air. In the first off-air clip, broadcast by another Mediaset show, Giambruno complains about criticisms of his hairstyle before telling his female colleague: “Why didn’t I meet you before?” In the second recording, he is heard telling a female colleague that they need another participant on the show. “Let’s have a threesome, even a foursome,” he said, as per The Guardian. 

In September, Meloni defended Giambruno after he said women should “avoid getting drunk” if they wanted to avoid being raped. He made the remarks on air after a series of high-profile rape cases. At the time, Meloni said his words had been misinterpreted and that while they were “hasty”, they were similar to what her mother had told her, which was to “keep your eyes peeled and head screwed on”.

Meloni thanks ex-husband, vows to defend home 

Meloni vowed to defend her relationship and especially her daughter in a compassionate yet fierce post on X. “I will defend what we were, I will defend our friendship, and I will defend, at all costs, a seven-year-old girl who loves her mother and loves her father, as I was unable to love mine. I have nothing else to say about this,” said Meloni. 

“I thank him for the splendid years we spent together, for the difficulties we went through, and for giving me the most important thing in my life, which is our daughter Ginevra,” she said. Hitting out at her detractors, Meloni noted that nothing can affect her strength and grit.