MK-TV power couple to wed
Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Channel 1 news anchor Geula Even announce their plans for a summer wedding
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The nattering nabobs of Israel’s gossip columns can still their quills. Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar will marry anchorwoman Geula Even after a six-month courtship, the couple announced Sunday.
In September, the 46-year-old Sa’ar separated from his wife Shelli, mother to his two daughters, after 22 years of marriage. Their divorce became final in December. Within weeks, the Israeli gossip columns were already buzzing over this unlikely MK-TV romance.
Sa’ar served as education minister in the previous government, receiving support from the country’s teachers unions to remain in the position, who praised him for “supporting Israel’s educators.” Nevertheless, he was replaced by Yesh Atid newcomer Shai Piron as part of a deal to bring the second-largest party in the Knesset into the coalition with Sa’ar’s ruling Likud party.
Even, 40, is a mother of three who was married for 20 years and divorced her husband last year. She anchors the Channel 1 nightly newscast.
Sa’ar, a former print journalist and sometimes DJ, is often seen partying late at night at Tel Aviv clubs and bars, according to reports.
One friend of the couple told Walla news that he was not at all surprised that by the engagement, but rather by the timing of the announcement. “They are completely in love,” he said. “It was clear that they would get married at some point. Nobody really knew when and we certainly didn’t expect it happen so fast.”
One incident that could have conceivably threatened the budding relationship happened in February, when Sa’ar was named in a letter ostensibly written by a woman who was his subordinate in the Education Ministry. The author of the letter claimed that Sa’ar had an affair with her, illicit relations with a drunken minor at a nightclub, and an affair with female politician.
According to the Yedioth Ahronoth daily, the couple is planning a small wedding sometime in the summer, most likely in June.The venue has yet to be announced, but it seems very unlikely that the hordes of press will be invited in any case.
The Times of Israel Community.