With her bump proudly on show and a beaming smile across her face, Carla Bruni looks overjoyed to be expecting her second child at the age of 43.
But the French First Lady has admitted the baby was both 'unexpected and unhoped for'.
In an interview with a French magazine, Miss Bruni admitted that the impending birth of her first child with President Nicolas Sarkozy – they both have children from previous relationships – was a complete surprise.
Since marrying Mr Sarkozy in 2008, following a whirlwind romance of just 80 days, she has often spoken of the difficulties a couple of their age might have in producing a child.
Mr Sarkozy is 56 and the baby is due in October, just two months before Miss Bruni's 44th birthday.
But speaking to Nice-Matin magazine, the model-turned-singer said the fact that the couple were expecting had made it 'a magnificent period in my life'.
She said: 'I'm making an album, but it's not quite finished yet because of this happiness to come, unexpected and unhoped for.'
She also played down rumours that she was expecting a boy, saying: 'I don't know myself! There are things that we need to keep secret.'
Miss Bruni admitted she had spent the last few weeks resting in the Fort de Bregancon, a presidential holiday home on the French Riviera.
'For me, these are rest days, really. In my state, I'm incredibly lucky to stay here, rather than in the city.
'And I'm waiting for my husband to come and join me this weekend, before we all go on holiday as a family in August.'
Asked if the baby will affect the way the couple are viewed, Miss Bruni, who is five inches taller than her husband, said: 'I don't know.
'The way people look at us from outside is so different from what we are in our private life. It's so out of sync that it's difficult to adjust their vision to reality.'
She also insisted that Mr Sarkozy will stand as president again next year, despite his current unpopularity in the polls, saying: 'Yes, I wish it for France.'
Miss Bruni already has a ten-year-old son, Aurelian, from her relationship with Raphael Enthoven, a Paris philosopher.
Mr Sarkozy has two sons, Pierre, 26, and Jean, 25, from his first marriage and Louis, a 14-year-old son, from his second.
Political opponents have criticised the couple, claiming the birth is ideally timed to happen just ahead of Mr Sarkozy's campaign for the presidential elections in May 2012.
France's Marianne news magazine said a baby would be a 'perfect marketing tool', adding: 'It is a “marketing-baby” that will be born just before the last months of presidential campaigning really get going.'
Fueling claims that she is a Marie Antoinette figure enjoying an easy life at taxpayers' expense, Miss Bruni said: '[Being] First Lady of France is not a burden.
'The weight of office falls on my husband. Doing this for three years has been a lot less tiring than spending ten years as a model.'
The First Lady not only missed the 14th July Bastille Day ceremony in Paris, but also the Monaco royal wedding earlier this month.
Asked if the fort was luxurious enough for her, Ms Bruni-Sarkozy paid tribute to Bernadette Chirac, her predecessor as First Lady.
Ms Bruni-Sarkozy said: ‘I haven’t touched anything, not even a curtain. It is very comfortable. I wouldn’t call it Spartan. It’s above all magnificent. It’s undoubtedly due to the legacy of Bernadette Chirac, a real housekeeper. Me, I’m a bit more bohemian.
‘For me, these are rest days, really. In my state, I’m incredibly lucky to stay here, rather than in the city. And I’m waiting for my husband to come and join me this weekend, before we all go on holiday as a family in August.’
Asked if an Elysee Palace baby will effect the way the couple are viewed, Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy, who is five inches taller than her husband, said: ‘I don’t know. The way people look at us from outside is so different from what we are in our private life.
'It’s so out of sync that it’s difficult to adjust their vision to reality.’
French media have suggested that the birth of couple's first baby is ideally timed to happen just ahead of Sarkozy’s campaign for the presidential elections in May 2012.
France’s Marianne news magazine said a baby would be a ‘perfect marketing tool’ for the Sarkozys ahead of the elections.
The news magazine said: 'Politically speaking, the timing of this pregnancy is perfect. It is a ‘marketing-baby’ that will be born just before the last months of presidential campaigning really get going.'
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But the French First Lady has admitted the baby was both 'unexpected and unhoped for'.
In an interview with a French magazine, Miss Bruni admitted that the impending birth of her first child with President Nicolas Sarkozy – they both have children from previous relationships – was a complete surprise.
Since marrying Mr Sarkozy in 2008, following a whirlwind romance of just 80 days, she has often spoken of the difficulties a couple of their age might have in producing a child.
Mr Sarkozy is 56 and the baby is due in October, just two months before Miss Bruni's 44th birthday.
But speaking to Nice-Matin magazine, the model-turned-singer said the fact that the couple were expecting had made it 'a magnificent period in my life'.
She said: 'I'm making an album, but it's not quite finished yet because of this happiness to come, unexpected and unhoped for.'
She also played down rumours that she was expecting a boy, saying: 'I don't know myself! There are things that we need to keep secret.'
Miss Bruni admitted she had spent the last few weeks resting in the Fort de Bregancon, a presidential holiday home on the French Riviera.
'For me, these are rest days, really. In my state, I'm incredibly lucky to stay here, rather than in the city.
'And I'm waiting for my husband to come and join me this weekend, before we all go on holiday as a family in August.'
Asked if the baby will affect the way the couple are viewed, Miss Bruni, who is five inches taller than her husband, said: 'I don't know.
'The way people look at us from outside is so different from what we are in our private life. It's so out of sync that it's difficult to adjust their vision to reality.'
She also insisted that Mr Sarkozy will stand as president again next year, despite his current unpopularity in the polls, saying: 'Yes, I wish it for France.'
Miss Bruni already has a ten-year-old son, Aurelian, from her relationship with Raphael Enthoven, a Paris philosopher.
Mr Sarkozy has two sons, Pierre, 26, and Jean, 25, from his first marriage and Louis, a 14-year-old son, from his second.
Political opponents have criticised the couple, claiming the birth is ideally timed to happen just ahead of Mr Sarkozy's campaign for the presidential elections in May 2012.
France's Marianne news magazine said a baby would be a 'perfect marketing tool', adding: 'It is a “marketing-baby” that will be born just before the last months of presidential campaigning really get going.'
Fueling claims that she is a Marie Antoinette figure enjoying an easy life at taxpayers' expense, Miss Bruni said: '[Being] First Lady of France is not a burden.
'The weight of office falls on my husband. Doing this for three years has been a lot less tiring than spending ten years as a model.'
The First Lady not only missed the 14th July Bastille Day ceremony in Paris, but also the Monaco royal wedding earlier this month.
Asked if the fort was luxurious enough for her, Ms Bruni-Sarkozy paid tribute to Bernadette Chirac, her predecessor as First Lady.
Ms Bruni-Sarkozy said: ‘I haven’t touched anything, not even a curtain. It is very comfortable. I wouldn’t call it Spartan. It’s above all magnificent. It’s undoubtedly due to the legacy of Bernadette Chirac, a real housekeeper. Me, I’m a bit more bohemian.
‘For me, these are rest days, really. In my state, I’m incredibly lucky to stay here, rather than in the city. And I’m waiting for my husband to come and join me this weekend, before we all go on holiday as a family in August.’
Asked if an Elysee Palace baby will effect the way the couple are viewed, Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy, who is five inches taller than her husband, said: ‘I don’t know. The way people look at us from outside is so different from what we are in our private life.
'It’s so out of sync that it’s difficult to adjust their vision to reality.’
French media have suggested that the birth of couple's first baby is ideally timed to happen just ahead of Sarkozy’s campaign for the presidential elections in May 2012.
France’s Marianne news magazine said a baby would be a ‘perfect marketing tool’ for the Sarkozys ahead of the elections.
The news magazine said: 'Politically speaking, the timing of this pregnancy is perfect. It is a ‘marketing-baby’ that will be born just before the last months of presidential campaigning really get going.'
