'We never lied' about our marriage: Sarkozy

PARIS: Cecilia Sarkozy said she and her former husband French President Nicolas Sarkozy had never lied about their marriage, in an interview that appears on Saturday in the weekly magazine Elle.

"I always acted and thought for my family and wasn't calculating. Nicolas and I never lied. We tried to rebuild, save our relationship, right up until the end," in response to suggestions they could be 'accused of having lied during the election campaign in playing a united couple.'

The notoriously difficult relationship of the Sarkozys was of intense interest in the run-up to the May presidential election, fueled by the fact they were rarely were seen together.

Since Sarkozy's election Cecilia has rarely appeared at her husband's side, occasionally causing awkward situations such as when she bowed out of what had been planned as a family gathering with US President George W Bush and his wife Laura in August.

The interview in Elle is the second Cecilia Sarkozy has given since Thursday's announcement of their divorce, despite a statement from the president's office saying the couple would not be making any public comments.

On Friday, in an interview with the L'Est Republican, she admitted she had 'fallen in love' with another man in 2005 and went to live with him in New York and said the couple had done everything to try to rebuild their marriage but failed.

She described herself as 'someone who prefers the shadows, serenity, tranquility' and not cut out for the very public role of a first lady.