Italian PM dumps boyfriend over ‘group sex’ proposal
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has revealed that she has separated from her longtime partner, the television personality Andrea Giambruno, after footage emerged of him appearing to proposition a female co-host to a “threesome or foursome.”
“My relationship with Andrea Giambruno, which lasted almost ten years, ends here,” Meloni, 46, wrote in a social media post on Friday, just days after footage of Giambruno’s actions on the set of well-known show ‘Striscia la Notizia’ went viral.
“I thank him for the splendid years we spent together, for the difficulties we went through, and for giving me the most important thing in my life, which is our daughter Ginevra,” she continued.
Meloni’s comments follow the emergence of the video, which was filmed during a commercial break and uploaded to the program’s social media channels and website. It allegedly showed Giambruno propositioning the female co-host for group sex, while he appeared to grab his genitals when making the suggestive comments.
Giambruno said via his agent on Friday that he and broadcaster Mediaset had agreed to suspend the show amid the scandal. Previously owned by the late former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Mediaset said it was “investigating the facts” surrounding Giambruno’s alleged misbehavior.
The company was previously accused of broadcasting sexist content, and it regularly publishes behind-the-scenes depictions of the hosts of ‘Striscia la Notizia’.
Meloni added in her social media post that her and Giambruno’s “paths have diverged for some time” ahead of their breakup. “I will defend what we were, I will defend our friendship, and I will defend, at all costs, a seven-year-old girl who loves her mother and loves her father, as I was unable to love mine.”
Meloni is leader of the Brothers of Italy party and has served as prime minister since October 2022. She has previously defended Giambruno, including by claiming that he was “misunderstood” when he made comments which appeared to suggest that some instances of rape could be avoided if women opted not to drink alcohol.
On Sunday, Meloni revealed that she was taking a “personal day” away from a major political conference. “I’m sorry to not be with you in person,” she said via video link at a ceremony marking the Brothers of Italy party’s first anniversary in power. “I, too, am human.”
