French first lady Carla Bruni, who was silent about her pregnancy until this summer, says she will continue to protect her child’s privacy long after his or her birth.
In an interview with TF1 program Sept à huit, the former model said she will forbid the press to print pictures of her kid.
“I will do everything to protect this infant, and I’ll be absolutely rigorous,” the 43-year-old said, as translated by People magazine. “I will never show photos of this child. I will never expose this child.”
Bruni may have acquired her self-described “mother hen” mentality from experience, having taken her firstborn Aurélien on a public date with then-husband-to-be Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008.
“My eldest son was exposed once, not in a public situation but in a private one, and it was a great error,” Bruni said. “I should never have taken my son to visit this magnificent site. I should have foreseen there would be photographers.”
Addressing tabloid speculation that Bruni will have another son, the first lady said, “A boy? I don’t know myself, so the press knows better than I do.” (MORE: Carla Bruni expecting a child, say grandparents-to-be)
Bruni fueled pregnancy rumors earlier this year when she veiled her belly in the presence of photographers. In a May interview with Le Parisien, she wouldn’t confirm or deny her pregnancy.
“If I may, I will not answer all these familial questions. I have a little boy, too, and I do not answer questions about him,” Bruni said. “Why don’t I answer? I’ll tell you. Nearly 180 [sic] percent of the time my husband is occupied by his country. He speaks only about that, he only does that, he is obsessed with it … I’m mum to protect something and to protect all of the work he does.”
Bruni may have kept quiet about expecting a baby for a while, but her family members couldn’t contain their excitement. Pal Sarkozy, the father of France’s president and Bruni’s spouse Nicolas Sarkozy, told Bild in May, “I’m glad to be having a grandchild … The two [Bruni and son Nicolas] do not want to know the gender in advance, but I’m sure it will be a girl and as beautiful as Carla.”
Bruni-Sarkozy had son Aurélien with former companion Raphaël Enthoven.
Watch: