Brigitte Macron ‘born a man’? How a YouTube blogger and a clairvoyant's claim shook Emmanuel Macron’s wife

Back in December 2021, Amandine Roy, a self-described clairvoyant, and Natacha Rey, an independent blogger, sat down for a four-hour YouTube broadcast. In that video, Rey laid out what she called a “state lie”: that Brigitte Macron, France’s First Lady, was actually born Jean-Michel Trogneux, transitioned to female, and hid it all from the public.

It wasn’t just idle gossip either. They pointed to Brigitte’s real brother, who is genuinely named Jean-Michel Trogneux, to lend their theory some weight. Then came a side claim that her first husband, André-Louis Auzière, never really existed before his death in 2020. When these theories hit the internet, they went viral in the conspiracy corners.

Brigitte Macron didn’t let it slide. She took them to court in January 2022, suing for defamation.

First defeat, then a shocking turn

A lower court in September 2023 found both women guilty. They were ordered to pay €8,000 to Brigitte Macron and €5,000 to her brother for dragging his name into it. But Roy and Rey didn’t back down. They insisted they’d faced “intimidation by the authorities” who were “ultra protected” and hell-bent on burying what they framed as a “state secret”.

Last week, the Paris Appeals Court sided with them. It ruled they acted in “good faith” — their allegations were not defamatory but an expression of belief, however bizarre. So they walked away without paying a cent. The court said the 18 disputed statements in the YouTube video didn’t legally add up to defamation.

Brigitte Marcon fights on

Brigitte Macron, now 72, says she’s “devastated”. Her lawyers have confirmed she’ll appeal the decision to France’s Cassation Court. President Emmanuel Macron has blasted the rumour as “false information” that “disturbs intimacy”. Tiphaine Auzière, Brigitte’s daughter, called it “grotesque harassment”.

This isn’t just fringe chatter either. Earlier this year, American commentator Candace Owens picked up the torch with a video titled Becoming Brigitte: An Introduction. She declared, “When I said that I would stake my entire professional career on the fact that Brigitte Macron, the current First Lady of France, was born a man, there were many people, of course, who did not believe me because that just sounds crazy.”

Owens went further, saying, “More specifically, Brigitte brought the case in regards to a 4-hour YouTube video broadcast… alleging that there were 18 instances of defamation… Brigitte was never attacking the claim that she was born a man. She was being super petty and trying to get them on a technicality of defamation for misspeaking.”

She doubled down, claiming “It was never defamation. It was a witch hunt. Legally speaking, the only proof Brigitte Macron is a woman is her word that she is. There is tons of proof however, that she lived as a man before ‘becoming Brigitte’.”

Fuel for conspiracies

This legal twist has emboldened the rumour mill. Social media posts keep popping up. One user on X (Twitter) wrote, “Brigitte Macron (born Jean Michel Trogneux) isn't just a man, but the Father of President Macron of France.” Another added, “Brigitte Macron, The French President Emmanuel Macron's Wife is allegedly a MAN and it's now going Mainstream in France.”

A controversial book by journalist Xavier Poussard, Becoming Brigitte, has become fresh tinder for these stories too.

So what does all this mean for the public? It’s a stark reminder of how sticky conspiracy theories can be when they tap into scandal and suspicion. Despite clear denials, solid evidence, and repeated legal action, the rumour won’t die. Instead, the court’s latest ruling has given oxygen to claims that were already thriving in the darker corners of the web.

Meanwhile, Brigitte Macron continues to stand her ground — rarely commenting in public but defending her name through the courts. And if this latest twist is any clue, the First Lady’s legal battle is far from over. The next stop: France’s highest court. Whether it puts this story to bed or fans the flames even more remains to be seen.