Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Feb 16 revealed his Valentine’s Day engagement to girlfriend Jodie Haydon, after “she said yes” to a carefully planned marriage proposal.

The words “Canberra” and “romance” are rarely twinned, but on Feb 15 the centre-left leader one-upped Valentines across Australia, with a morning message that the pair had agreed to wed.

“It is such a joy to be able to share this news with people,” a beaming and slightly bashful Mr Albanese said, after walking hand-in-hand with Ms Haydon from the prime minister’s official residence.

“It’s wonderful that I’ve found a partner who I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

Mr Albanese, who met Ms Haydon at a Melbourne business dinner in 2020, is believed to be the first Australian prime minister to get engaged while in office, public broadcaster ABC reported.

Ms Haydon gushed thanks to “everybody for such a warm congratulations today, from our friends to our family, from people that we don’t know. It’s just been overwhelming but beautiful.”