The former first minister of Scotland has denied some of the most absurd rumors she has read online, claiming that she resigned because she wanted more privacy.
Nicola Sturgeon, who has been married to Peter Murrell, a former head of the SNP, for 13 years, has denied allegations that she is a “hidden lesbian.”
Furthermore, she dismissed rumors that she had an extramarital connection with a female French diplomat with a chuckle.
The rumour mill had claimed the pair bought a house from tennis star Sir Andy Murray’s mother Judy as a love nest.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon announces resignation after eight years
In the past, the internet has also alleged that she has a global property portfolio and a super injunction in place to hide the truth.
Speaking to a BBC Scotland podcast, Ms Sturgeon said online gossip about her had been ‘part of the reason’ behind her decision to call it a day.
‘I read accounts of my life on social media and I think, “You know, it is so much more glamorous sounding and so much more exciting”‘, she said.
‘I’m not naive, I’m not of the view that I will step down one day and be completely anonymous the next day, I understand the realities of what I have done and I’ll still be in parliament, but I want to have a bit more privacy.
‘I want to have a bit more anonymity and I just want to protect some of what people take for granted in their lives that I’ve forgotten to have.’
Ms Sturgeon’s shock resignation as leader of the SNP in February led to speculation about the reasons behind her decision.
Some suggested the ongoing debate about self-identification laws for transgender people was the final straw.
The British government blocked the ‘self-ID’ law from taking effect, marking the first time it has invoked the power to veto Scottish law.
Ms Sturgeon said she would fight the decision, saying trans people were being ‘weaponised’ in politics, but she insisted her departure was ‘not a reaction to short-term pressures’.
At a press conference, she said she no longer felt she could give the job of first minister everything it deserves, and had a duty to say so.
‘If the only question was “can I battle on for another few months?”, then the answer is yes, of course I can’, she said.
‘But if the question is, “can I give this job everything it demands and deserves for another year, let alone for the remainder of this parliamentary term – give it every ounce of energy that it needs in the way that I have strived to do every day for the past eight years?” – the answer honestly is different.’
She previously cited the funeral of independence activist Allan Angus as the moment which cemented her decision.
She was replaced as first minister this week by Humza Yousaf, the first Scottish Asian and Muslim man to hold the role.