"They tell me that it all was too rapid. That's not true between Nicolas and me. It didn't happen rapidly. It was immediate," Bruni, 39, tells the French news magazine L'Express.
Although the pair were married nine weeks after they met, "for us, it even seemed slow," says Bruni. "I know you don't get married in an instant and that even more, we were in the spotlight. But lovers, you know, have their own sense of time."
In excerpts posted Tuesday night on L'Express's Web site, Bruni tells editor Christian Barbier that she "didn't hesitate to marry."
"I wished to marry him right away," says she. "I felt that with him nothing bad could happen, Nicolas isn't addicted to power and that's what makes him courageous. I love being with him more than anything."
Learning to be a First Lady
The former '90s supermodel turned singer-songwriter confirms her first official trip as first lady will be to Great Britain in March. She also says she plans to continue work on her third album, but realizes touring may be out of the question.But she hasn't begun to envision her first lady role: "I'm just starting. Nothing was calculated, nothing foreseen. I've never been married before and I'm Italian and I don't like divorce.
"Therefore I'm the First Lady of France until the end of my husband's term, and then his wife until death. I know that can hold surprises but that's just what I want."
For the moment, she says, the newlyweds are splitting time between her home in Paris and the Elyseés Palace's Presidential apartments, which she describes "a cocoon."
Bruni acknowledges she is aware the French are concerned about her past notoriety, saying, "I want to reassure the French: I'm 40 years old, I am normal, serious, conscientious, simple, even if I come from a privileged background."
She adds: "I'm honest. I'm the mother of a small boy, I write songs and I've been married to your President for two weeks. ... I'm proud and happy to be the first lady of France. I'll do my best."
