Carla Bruni denies Sarkozy affair claim

AFFAIR DENIED: Former model Carla Bruni has described her marriage to the French president as a 'fairy tale'.

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Former supermodel Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has said her husband, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, would never cheat on her and has described their love story as a "real fairy tale."

Bruni, who married Sarkozy two years ago after a whirlwind romance, made the comments on Britain's Sky News television in an interview released on Wednesday and recorded last Friday.

Rumours have swept the internet and the British press over the past three days that both Bruni and her husband were having extra-marital affairs.

The Elysee has not commented on the speculation.

Although the Sky interview was made before the rumours surfaced, the reporter did ask Bruni if she trusted Sarkozy, given speculation that he had had affairs before they met.

"Oh yes, very much. He would never have affairs. And have you ever seen a picture of him having an affair? Ah, so" Bruni said, giving her interviewer a piercing stare.

Pressed on whether she thought their marriage would last forever, Bruni paused before saying: "I guess marriage should be forever, but, um who knows what happens. I wish it was forever, that's my hope, but we could be dead tomorrow."

A feline star of the catwalk turned celebrated chanteuse, Bruni brought considerable glamour to the Elysee in February 2008 when she married the hyperactive Sarkozy, who had divorced his second wife just four months earlier.

However, their quickfire relationship raised eyebrows in France, especially given Bruni's assertion in a 2007 magazine interview that she was "crazily bored by monogamy."

Asked about that famous comment on Sky, Bruni pointed out that Sarkozy was her first husband. "Well I was never married, so I think monogamy has to do with marriage, right?" she said.

Bruni once described herself as a "man tamer" and has had a number of affairs with intellectuals and rock stars, including Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton, and has a young son from a previous relationship.

But she told Sky she was very grateful to have met Sarkozy.

"The real fairy tale is how lucky, how incredibly lucky it was for me to fall in love at 40 years old, and meeting someone that, you know, I could marry," she said.

Internet chatter about extra marital affairs first surfaced on Twitter. The rumours were also reported on a blog carried on the website of respected French weekend newspaper Journal du Dimanche. The blog has since been removed.

"Because of the serious, prejudicial attack on people's private lives, the newsroom of JDD.fr has decided to withdraw this post," the website says.

A number of British newspapers have since reported the rumours, as did Sky News on its website, and the French government spokesman was asked on Wednesday if the Elysee intended to sue them over the stories.

"Not only do I not comment on rumours, but I also do not comment on rumours about the private life of the president and members of the government," Luc Chatel told reporters.

- Reuters