Former first lady of France Carla Bruni returns to music, clarifies her polyamorous comments

Former French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, here in a 2014 file photo, is dedicating her free time to music again now that she’s out of the political spotlight. (Reuters)

Carla Bruni is returning to her roots.

The former first lady of France, who first found fame in the ‘90s as a sought-after Italian model and pop star, is dedicating her free time to music again now that she’s out of the political spotlight alongside her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy.

In 2017, Emmanuel Macron shot to power as the new president of France.

Just last year, the 50-year-old collaborated with producer David Foster on her first studio album since 2013, titled “French Touch.” On Friday, she’s headlining a show at New York City’s Town Hall.

“I had been trying to write English lyrics for maybe 20 years and could never make it,” Bruni told Vanity Fair Friday on creating a covers collection. “I chose the songs I could actually change a little bit and make them mine.”

Bruni, who met Foster years ago during one of her concert appearances, said they bonded over drinks.

Fashion model Carla Bruni wears this short taffeta evening dress with arabesque embroidery and long back skirts as part of Danish designer Erik Mortensen' 1994 Spring-Summer haute couture collection for Jean-Louis-Scherrer, January 17, 1994. (Reuters)

“He came to my concert and we had a drink,” she explained. “The next day after, we had another drink and a cup of tea. The next day, he said he liked my music and voice, but doesn’t understand a word of my lyrics. Then he said to me, ‘Let’s make an album with English songs.’”

Bruni wasn’t nervous about the recording process. Throughout her musical career, she’s managed to captivate famous fans on a more personal level. She reportedly had romances with Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton before her marriage to Sarkozy, 63, in 2008. Bruni even stirred headlines for claiming she was originally polyamorous.

“No I wasn’t joking – I was just young,” she explained. “Then you meet someone that changes your mind. When you’re young, you think you’re so cool, and you’re trying to say stuff that will make you look cool. I thought that would make me look cool. It’s always the same story: when a man has a lot of girlfriends, he’s a fantastic playboy, and when a girl has a lot of boyfriends, they say she’s not a good girl.

France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) and his now-wife Carla Bruni, walk together during a visit to the Giza pyramids in Cairo, December 30, 2007. (Reuters)

"As a woman, I hated that point of view. So I thought it would be so cool and pretend that I was free from society’s judgment… I thought I could escape that and be free. But as soon as I met my man, I became like all women, being faithful and jealous. I became completely common. That’s how love is – it makes you average, doesn’t it? I think that he changed my mind.”

These days, Bruni is a proud wife and mother who’s gearing up for the next chapter in her life as an artist. She even sought inspiration from one Hollywood icon.

“My favorite song is ‘Moon River’ because I listened to that song since I was a child,” she explained. “I could never forget it being in this movie, ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s,’ in the ‘60s. It was performed by Audrey Hepburn.

"She didn’t allow the song to be released until she died. It’s such a charming moment – she’s so incredibly graceful and lovely, but she didn’t realize [it]. She only focused on the fact that she wasn’t a good singer. She wasn’t Adele, obviously, but she was great.”