The First Lady of Australia is a role that differs greatly from that of our American counterparts.
The wives of Australia’s prime ministers are largely able to go about their regular lives with minimal media scrutiny, without the big budgets and hoards of staff that women like Jill Biden, Michelle Obama and Melania Trump have at their disposal.
So we often know very little about the women married to the most powerful men in the country.
Jenny Morrison, the wife of Australia’s 30th prime minister Scott Morrison, would probably like to keep it that way.
The former registered nurse lives a very low-key life with the couple’s two daughters, Abbey, 13, and Lily, 11, and until 2018, maintained a quiet suburban life in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire.
When her husband was suddenly nominated by his Liberal Party colleagues to be the party’s new leader in August 2018, she was blindsided.
“I was in shock,” she told Nine Honey of her husband’s sudden appointment as PM.
“I did not see it coming.”
One month later, the Morrison family packed up their life and moved into Kirribilli House, the official PM’s residence, in Sydney’s lower north shore.
But despite her husband’s very public job, Jenny, 54, tries to keep her life as normal as possible both for her daughters and her own sanity.
Here’s everything you need to know about the woman behind the man leading Australia.
Scott and Jenny Morrison with their daughters Abby (left) and Lily (right) in their father’s office in Parliament House, Canberra.
(Image: Getty)
Even the PM takes selfies with his family!
(Image: Getty)She still drives her kids to school everyday
Jenny still mixes with her same social circle and doesn’t travel with an entourage, which she says still shocks the locals at her favourite cafe.
“They all can’t believe it,” she said of the first time to returned for a coffee after her husband took office. “They’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re here! Where are your people?’ And I went, ‘No, it’s just me’.”
Her young daughters still attend the same primary school in the Shire with Jenny doing drop-off everyday – driving an hour each way.
“I might be the Prime Minister’s wife, but I’m still a mum with two young girls and trying to keep things as normal as possible,” Jenny said.
“I think maybe people picture that your life as the wife of the Prime Minister is glamorous and amazing and exciting. But no… I’m doing the same things everyone else does. It’s hard work being a parent.”
Scott and Jenny pictured in 1985, when they were both in Year 12.
(Image: Instagram)
Scott and Jenny on their wedding day.
(Image: Instagram)The Morrison girls are banned from phones and social media
“They’re not allowed to have Instagram accounts. Anything, actually — Snapchat, nothing,” Jenny told Nine Honey of her strict parenting rules around technology.
“They’re constantly telling me ‘It’s not the 1980s, Mum’ and I’m saying, ‘I know, it’s worse, so you do what we say’.”
The risks associated with being the Prime Minister’s daughters are too great for the Morrison parents to ignore.
“As a mum, yes, I’m anxious about those days ahead where [technology] going to play a much bigger part … but I’m shielding them as much as I can.”
The PM says this is one of his favourite photos with his daughters.
(Image: Instagram)Jenny met Scott at age 12
The pair both grew up in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire and first met when they were both 12, at Luna Park in Sydney.
Jenny liked Scott immediately and felt the same a year later when they met again at a Christian youth camp. Scott got Jenny’s number, but didn’t call.
They encountered each other again at 16, which is when they “finally” started dating.
Apart from a two-week break (he was the one who broke things off), they have been together ever since and married at age 21.
WATCH BELOW: Scott and Jenny Morrison meet Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. Story continues after video.
In a highly-publicised 60 Minutes interview in February 2022, Jenny revealed Scott had actually dumped her when they were teens.
“He broke up with me because he was keen on another girl,” she told Karl Stefanovic.
Scott sheepishly responded: “Oh, I was an idiot. It was a stupid decision. We fixed it pretty quick.”
When asked what she would say to her 16-year-old self, Jenny laughed: “Run!”
“It’s been a long time but I know him better than he knows himself.”
Scott and Jenny at the 2018 Midwinter Ball in Canberra.
(Image: Getty)They struggled for years with infertility
The couple were desperate to have children, but for almost 20 years were unable to conceive.
As anyone who has experienced infertility knows, it’s absolutely heartbreaking.
“Yes, I was very sad that I couldn’t have children. That framed a lot of my life,” she told The Australian Women’s Weekly in 2015.
The couple decided to try IVF and failed several rounds before finally, at the age of 39, Jenny gave birth to the couple’s first daughter Abigail in 2007 and later, her younger sister Lily. Both girls were conceived naturally.
“She is our miracle child, the answer to a lifetime of prayer and 14 years of painful, invasive, heartbreaking treatment,” Scott wrote about Abigail in 2009.
Jenny looking stunning in a Bianca Spender gown.
(Image: Getty)In March 2022, Jenny opened up about her 30-year battle with endometriosis, a painful a condition where the tissue that lines the uterus also grows outside the uterus – and also the catalyst for her fertility struggles.
“I would get so sick … vomiting, diarrhoea, terrible backache, really extreme cramps … you can get pain down your legs and everything,” the 54-year-old told The Daily Telegraph.
She told Today‘s Allison Langdon that it started when she began suffering “really debilitating” period cramps in Year 8.
“It would get worse and worse – nothing helped – and then it got really severe,” she said.
Scott and Jenny with their gorgeous daughters.
(Image: Getty)Her amazing encounter with Meghan and Harry
Jenny and Scott Morrison with Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry during their 2018 tour of Australia.
(Image: Getty)During Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s official royal tour of Australia in October 2018, Jenny and Scott had a formal meeting with the royal couple at Kirribilli House.
And Meghan and Jenny actually shared a sweet moment together.
“They were so lovely,” Jenny told Nine Honey about the couple.
Nervous about hosting the royals in her home, she confessed to Meghan: “This is all new to me.”
But the new Duchess comforted the PM’s wife, replying, “Tell me about it. It’s new for me too.”
And what was her review of Prince Harry?
“He is very charming and quite good looking. He’s got very beautiful eyes.”
We are very jealous!
Jenny and Scott at Parliament House in Canberra.
(Image: Getty)Jenny’s brave mental health revelation
During the 2019 federal election campaign, when mental health services became a hot talking point among Australian voters, Jenny decided it was time to open up about her own battles with depression, because she wanted mental health “to be something that people aren’t afraid to talk about”.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the 54-year-old revealed she experienced a low period when her children were very little and her up-and-coming politician husband was spending a lot of time away from home.
“Scott went into politics as soon as my baby was born, so I’ve had 12 years nearly of him not being around and doing that alone and that was really hard and, yes, I suffered and didn’t know why,” Jenny revealed.
She went to a psychologist for a couple of sessions and found talking it out to be really helpful.
“I didn’t have to take medication or anything like that — it really helped to talk to someone,” she said.
Now she is a big supporter of mental health programs and campaigned heavily in support of mental health services.
The couple have been married since 1990.
(Image: Getty)Jenny and Scott don’t always agree about politics
The PM’s controversial policies, including his “Turn Back The Boats” strategy during his time as Immigration Minister, have gotten him into hot water and earned him a reputation as an often cold leader.
While she won’t comment specifically on certain political issues, like any married couple, Jenny says she and her husband “disagree a lot”.
Does he seek her advice on policy issues?
“He doesn’t make policy for me, I assure you … He’ll ask me what I think because I come from a totally different mindset.
“So he gets a different viewpoint from me, which might be just a layperson’s viewpoint. And sometimes we’re not always on the same page.”
While politics is a world where the mud-slinging is usually dirty and nasty, Jenny says her aim in life is the complete opposite.
“My purpose in life is very simple – it’s basically to be kind to absolutely everyone you can,” she said.
“Because life is really about a series of connections with people.”
Jenny and Scott during their highly-publicised 60 Minutes interview in February 2022.
(Image: Nine)Jenny has defended Scott over his response to sexual assault in politics
In their wide-ranging 60 Minutes interview, Jenny spoke of her husband’s response to alleged sexual assault in Australian politics – for which he has received criticism.
“I was speaking directly to [Scott]. I really wanted to know our girls would be perfectly safe working in that building,” she said.
“I think Scott totally gets things. He’s all about problem-solving so that can come across sometimes as serious, uncaring, or lacking empathy.
0“But it isn’t that at all. It’s seriously focused and task-orientated and it can only make things better having more people aware about it and change actually happening.”
Jenny also broke her silence on former Australian of the Year Grace Tame’s snub of her and Scott at The Lodge in Canberra in January 2022.
“I just found a little bit disappointing, because we were welcoming her in our home. I just wish the focus had been on all the incredible people coming in,” she said of the encounter that made national headlines.
“I respect people that want to change things, stand up for their beliefs, and are strong, but I still think there are manners and respect.”
Jenny was then asked if she wanted her daughters to look up to outspoken advocates like Grace.
“I want my daughters to grow up to be fierce, strong, independent, amazing people. And I think they can still do that and show kindness to other people and be polite and have manners,” she said.
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help is always available. Call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
1
