Video: 'Pierre and Maggie Trudeau (stock footage / archival footage)'

(Friday, May 27, 1977) — Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 57, and his wife, Margaret, 28, announced jointly today that they had separated and that Mr. Trudeau would retain custody of their three sons.

The brief announcement, issued through the Prime Minister’s press office on Mr. Trudeau’s personal letterhead, said that the two would live apart but did not mention divorce.

The statement said, however, that Mrs. Trudeau, an aspiring photographer, “wishes to leave the marriage and pursue an independent career.”