Who is Jodie Haydon? | Daily Mail Online

Jodie Haydon was nicknamed Australia’s unofficial ‘First Lady’ after the 2022 election, but after accepting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s romantic Valentine’s Day proposal, it’s about to become official.

The 45-year-old union worker saw him toil in opposition for two years before seizing power and supporting him through the highest highs and several lows during their four-year relationship.

The couple met in 2020, at a time when Albanese was recovering from a painful – and unexpected – divorce.

Four years later, and as the Prime Minister reaches a political high point with his popular tax changes in phase three, they have announced their commitment.

Here’s everything you need to know about Mr. Albanese’s biggest fan.

Who is Jodie Haydon?

Ms Haydon was born in Bankstown, western Sydney, to teacher parents and grew up on the central coast of New South Wales.

She left university and started a career in the pensions sector, working in various banking and finance roles for twenty years.

She now works as a women’s officer with the NSW Public Service Association.

In addition to her career, she also took over as chief patron of the National Portrait Gallery in August 2022, replacing former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s wife Jenny.

The position is a common honor for spouses of Prime Ministers and Ms Haydon’s appointment was announced in the Prime Minister’s Register of Interests.

In mid-2023, she also stepped into a new role as an ambassador for Redkite, a charity that provides support to families affected by childhood cancer.

Redkite provides emotional, financial and practical help to families with a child under 18 who has cancer.

How did Jodie Haydon and Anthony Albanese meet?

The once-divorced Prime Minister met Ms Haydon in early 2020 at a conference in Melbourne where the then Opposition Leader was speaking.

Mr Albanese asked the crowd if any fellow South Sydney fans were present and Ms Haydon, who lives in his Grayndler electorate, shouted: ‘Up the Rabbitohs’.

Later he introduced himself and they decided to go for drinks when they got back to Sydney.

He wooed his new girlfriend with a night out at Young Henrys Brewery in Newtown.

‘We had what I thought was just going to be a drink at Young Henrys in Newtown, and we got on really well. That’s how it started,” he told Women’s Weekly.

Mr Albanese, a father of one, had recently split from his ex-wife Carmel Tebbutt after 19 years of marriage and 30 years together.

Mr Albanese said he ‘didn’t see it coming’ when Tebbutt decided to end their marriage on New Year’s Day 2019.

“I had to stop trying to understand it and just accept it and accept that it was a decision that was made and she was moving on with her life in a different direction and I had to do the same,” he said.

“You can tie yourself in knots by understanding someone else’s decisions and thought processes.”

The moment Jodie Haydon fell in love with Anthony Albanese

Ms Haydon, who has never been married or had children, said she was not looking for a relationship but realized she had fallen in love with Mr Albanese when he was in a car accident in January 2021.

His Toyota was rammed by a Range Rover and he was rushed to hospital for x-rays but escaped serious injury.

Ms Haydon recalled arriving at the scene of the accident in Marrickville after a phone call and seeing her friend’s wrecked car.

‘I saw the wreckage of a car before I saw it and thought ‘he wouldn’t survive this’. It was very scary, and in that moment you realize how much you love this person – the fear of losing them,” she said.

‘When I jumped in the ambulance and saw Anthony, I knew how deep my feelings for him were.’

After the accident, Mrs Haydon was by his side as he embarked on a fitness mission, losing a whopping 18kg in less than a year by cutting out carbs, exercising more and giving up alcohol for three months.

“I am so proud of Anthony’s discipline and motivation to improve his health. This was a decision you made a while ago, after a near-death experience, to make the most of life and give yourself every opportunity to be healthy and happy.”

‘As his partner, I have seen how taxing life as a politician can be; it is extremely exhausting both mentally and physically.”

Ms Haydon said she hopes Australians will all want to look after themselves as best they can and that Mr Albanese’s lifestyle changes can motivate others to follow suit.

“I hope his actions can inspire others to do the same.”

What are Jodie Haydon’s political views?

Haydon supports the Labor Party and has been a member ‘on and off’ since she was 30.

In the past, she had stated that as the prime minister’s partner she did not want to make political commentary, but used her LinkedIn account to freely express her progressive views.

She called for the date of Australia Day to be changed, with a message saying: “Sovereignty has never been ceded. It was always Aboriginal land and it always will be.”

She has also advocated pay rises for teachers, supported asylum seekers and described outspoken feminist Grace Tame as inspiring among her posts.

Ms Haydon – a signatory to the Women in Super ‘Make Super Fair’ campaign – called on the Government in 2019 to make a series of changes to pension rules to protect women and people on low incomes.

She proposed placing an additional annual government contribution of $1,000 into the super accounts of low-income people, to “better support those with insufficient retirement savings.”

Ms Haydon also urged the Government to abolish the $450 monthly income threshold and also publish a gender impact statement for any changes to age pension or retirement income policies.

The monthly income limit – the minimum amount an employee must earn before an employer must pay super – has been lifted from 1 July 2022.

Now an employer must pay a pension on all income.

A closer look at the Make Super Fair campaign shows that it is in line with Mr Albanese’s decision to double the super contribution rate from 15 per cent to 30 per cent for the richest 0.5 per cent of Australians.

A campaign mission statement said modeling showed the additional contributions Ms. Haydon proposed would cost about $2.7 billion each year and would specifically target low-income people.

“Most of (the target group) are women and need government assistance to achieve economic security in retirement,” the campaign said.

‘It is estimated that the government spends $30 billion annually on super tax concessions and the majority of current super tax concessions are paid to high-income earners, who do not need government support to achieve a comfortable retirement.’