Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says women 'shouldn't expect the minimum' seven months after announcing split from Canadian PM Justin and coupling up with hunky pediatric surgeon

Justin Trudeau's ex-wife has said women 'shouldn't expect the minimum' in what may have been a veiled swipe at the Canadian prime minister. 

Sophie Gregoire, 48, spoke about love, trauma and her battle with bulimia on the Know Your Value podcast earlier this week. 

Her appearance on the pod came as she found love with an Ottawa pediatric surgeon towards the end of her 18-year marriage with Trudeau in August 2023. 

'Your needs, you shouldn't expect the minimum,' former TV host Gregoire told the podcast. 

'You should expect a maximum of nourishment, presence and help in your life with the people around you. And we shouldn't have to hold it all together as women.'

Justin Trudeau 's ex-wife Sophie Gregoire has said women 'shouldn't expect the minimum' in what may have been a veiled swipe at the Canadian prime minister

Sophie Gregoire, 48, spoke about love, trauma and her battle with bulimia on the Know Your Value podcast earlier this week

Gregoire's comments come after she appears to have found love with an Ottawa pediatric surgeon Dr Marcos Bettolli (pictured) towards the end of her 18-year marriage with Trudeau in August 2023. 

She wore a silver band on her wedding ring finger for her appearance on the podcast despite the separation. 

The Trudeaus revealed in an Instagram post on August 2, 2023, that they had legally split after almost two decades of marriage and three children together. 

Their reasons for splitting were not made clear, however, the couple said at the time that it came after 'many difficult conversations'. 

Sophie Gregoire (pictured) split from Justin Trudeau last summer 

Gregoire allegedly coupled up with Argentina-born Dr Marcos Bettolli several months before her shock separation from the Canadian PM, according to the surgeon's own divorce papers. 

In a divorce petition filed on April 26, 2023, Dr Bettolli's ex-wife Ana Remonda claimed that he had 're-partnered with a high-profile individual who attracts significant media attention, and presents significant security considerations'.

The person was not named in the court documents, but The National Post claimed it had been confirmed that Ms Remonda's allegation refers to 48-year-old Sophie.

Dr Bettolli, 48, works at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) and also teaches at the University of Ottawa’s medical school.

He separated from stay-at-home-mom Remonda in January 2020 after 22 years of marriage and two kids together. 

Gregoire also spoke about 'the language of love' and 'self care' during her appearance on the Know Your Value podcast. 

'Human wounds, pain, suffering, is universal,' she said. 'The language of love is slow, and love not just in the romantic sense of the word.

The Trudeaus (pictured in 2016) revealed on August 2, 2023, that they had legally separated after 18 years of marriage and three children together

Their reasons for splitting were not made clear, however, the couple said it came after 'many difficult conversations'

 Grégoire and Trudeau share three children together. Two sons, Xavier, 15, Hadrien, 9 and daughter Ella-Grace, 14

'Self care, slowing down, knowing how to sit with our pain. And trauma is not just what is bad that happened to you - it's also what didn't take place that should have happened.'

Gregoire suffered with bulimia from her teens into her early 20s, and she also revealed on the pod that she worried she was 'not going to have any contracts' for her charity work and public speaking after revealing her struggle in 2006. 

The former Canadian first lady and TV host had a happy childhood growing up in Montreal, and she started struggling with the eating disorder when she was 17.

'I remember feeling ashamed, thinking, "Why am I suffering from this?" On the surface I had it all,' she said while speaking about it during eating disorder awareness week in 2017. 

'I kept reading about what it was to be a bulimic and saying, "This is the last time I’m doing this to myself."

'I started to tremble because of too much binging and purging and thinking, "What is this?"'

The Trudeaus revealed in an Instagram post on August 2, 2023, that they had legally split after almost two decades of marriage and three children together

Their reasons for splitting were not made clear, however, the couple said at the time that it came after 'many difficult conversations'

Gregoire allegedly coupled up with Argentina-born Dr Marcos Bettolli several months before her shock separation from the Canadian PM, according to the surgeon's own divorce papers

Eating was a way for her to feel like she had some control of her life, even though the opposite was true, Gregoire Trudeau revealed in a 2011 interview. 

She said: 'Addictions are biochemical imbalances of the brain, and binging and purging is a sign of a greater emotional wound. 

'Eating was my only way of controlling my life, or so I thought. When you are addicted or suffering from a mental illness, you think you’re in complete control. 

'But the opposite is true. You are, in fact, completely out of control.'

It wasn't until she was 21 that she broke down, reached out to her parents for help, and started on the long road to recovery.

Gregoire now supports several eating disorder charities, including BACA and Sheena's Place.