The model wife: How Carla fell in love with a president and became his greatest asset

It was a romance that nobody expected and few understood.

When model Carla Bruni appeared on the arm of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's arm there was surprise, and the obligatory cries of "that'll never last". But ultimately, the doubters were wrong

Though you can see why commentators were puzzled.

Carla – pictured with Gianni Versace and Naomi Campbell - was once something of a wild child.

An ethereal creature, she grew up on the catwalks of Europe and dated rock stars like Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger

She was a free spirit, and famous for her quotes on the nature of love.

The brunette beauty – seen with her lawyer ex Arno Klarsfeld - memorably remarked how she was easily "bored with monogamy".

"Love lasts a long time, but burning desire – two to three weeks," she added

While she may not have seemed like the most obvious choice as the companion for a president, ultimately, none of that mattered.

There was instant chemistry when Carla met the French leader at an intimate eight-strong dinner party in November 2007.

The sparks were "instantaneous, immediate ... I don't know what he has but he has something very protective that I never found before.

"Maybe because I was much more attracted to artists," said Carla – who spent Christmas in Egypt with her new lover, a month after they met

People were taken aback when they started stepping out. But Carla – used to the controversy and excitement of the fashion world - wasn't fazed. She understood, perfectly, she said.

"I realised people were shocked when I first started dating, because presidents don't date and I understand that," she said.

But the blue-eyed beauty was in no hurry to make things more official.

"We can date forever, we don't have to get married," she said during the early days of the courtship

Things didn't quite work out like that, though. Two months after their first meeting, they secretly wed.

Why the hurry after her declaration that there was no rush? "I'm crazy in love with him," Carla responded

Carla seemed to fit quickly and easily into the role of a picture-perfect president's wife.

Always immaculately turned out, she was calm and composed even when meeting the most high-profile of guests.

Her days in the spotlight from modelling and her music career seemed to have prepared her for that moment

Suddenly, she didn't seem so out of place at Nicolas' side. While the president wasn't known for his social graces, his wife was a mistress of etiquette.

Multi-lingual, fluent in English and from an aristocratic Italian family, she was an incredible asset to the French leader. His approval ratings went through the roof

And because she could upstage him just by taking off her cardigan, his gorgeous wife was aware that she must be careful at her husband's side when the eyes of the world were upon her.

"Yes, I am afraid of making mistakes," she admitted. "Everyone says to me, 'But why do you look so shy and so quiet?' I say, 'I'm not going to dance!'

"You know? I'm not going to sing and dance coming down from a plane.

"I mean, of course, I'm afraid and shy. I'm observing things and trying to hold my place.

"I must represent France and I want to be elegant, and I want the French people to be proud of me."

Not that she was ready to fade into the back ground and lose her identity within the role of first lady.

"I said to Nicolas, 'I cannot choose between you and my music, it's ridiculous. I'm not going to drop my job and iron my husband's shirts for the next four years'," she says.

"So of course he didn't ask me to choose, I decided to keep my job"

Theirs is a partnership of equals.

And Carla, once so easily bored with monogamy, was transformed into someone who just loved being part of a husband and wife team.

She admitted: "I thought marriage was something very quiet and very regular and very bourgeois, but I don't think it is at all, especially with Nicolas. It's full of adventure and full of fun."

Of course, it helps that Nicolas gets on especially well with Carla's nine-year-old son Aurelien, from her relationship with philosophy professor Raphael Enthoven.

As she does with his sons Pierre, 26, and Jean, 25

The only thing missing was a child of their own. But then in May 2010, rumours started to circulate Carla was expecting after she appeared fuller around the middle on a string of public appearances.

In the past, she would always deny pregnancy rumours, saying: "I wish."

But this time around she declined to answer questions on the subject.

"I am remaining tight-lipped about that to protect something and to protect all the work that my husband does," she said.

"I would really like to talk about it, but then it would take over everything else."