Husband of Luxembourg’s gay PM joins NATO first ladies – and Mrs. Erdogan looked mighty uncomfortable

A gay first gentleman mingled, and was photographed with, the first ladies of fellow nations at a NATO conference.

Belgian architect Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, joined U.S. first lady Melania Trump and others in Brussels on Thursday for the event.

From left, France’s Brigitte Trogneux, Turkey’s Emine Erdogan, Luxembourg’s Gauthier Destenay, US Melania Trump, Slovenia’s Mojca Stropnik, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Iceland’s Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir, Norway’s Ingrid Schulerud – Stoltenberg, Bulgaria’s Desislava Radeva and Belgium’s Amelie Derbaudrenghien pose for a group photo during the spouse and partner program at the Royal Castle of Laeken in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

 

Another angle…

The group of first spouses posed together for photos in the Royal Castle of Laeken ahead of a dinner especially for them, the Daily Mail reported. And while the other first ladies were pictured smiling, Turkey’s first lady Emine Gulbaran Erdogan, a devout Muslim, appeared to be visibly uncomfortable.

Melania Trump, right, wife of US President Donald Trump and Emine Erdogan, second right, wife of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visit the Magritte Museum in Brussels on Thursday, May 25, 2017. US President Donald Trump is in Belgium for a two day visit which will include a meeting with EU officials and a NATO summit. (AP Photo/Thierry Monasse)

Her stern demeanor had some believing she didn’t appreciate Destenay’s attendance.

Although, it might her style as Erdogan was also standing close to Melania Trump, who she appeared to give the ‘side eye’ to in other photos.

Being gay is not considered a crime in Turkey as it is in some other Middle Eastern countries, but it is not as tolerant of LGBT rights as its western counterparts and it does not recognize gay marriage.

Regardless of what Erdogan may have been thinking, the photo was certainly notable as a sign of the times.

Mrs. Erdogan’s husband, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recently made headlines in the U.S. after calling on his thug bodyguards to beat up protesters outside the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C.

Melania Trump, the wife of US President Donald Trump, center, poses with Belgium’s Queen Mathilde, right, and Gauthier Desteney, the husband of Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel during a group photo for the spouses and partner program at the Royal Palace of Laeken, near Brussels, on Thursday, May 25, 2017. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

As for Luxenberg’s first couple… they were was wed in a quiet ceremony in 2015, months after gay marriage was legalized in the European nation.

Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, right, puts his hand around the shoulder of his partner Gauthier Destenay after their marriage at the town hall in Luxembourg, on Friday, May 15, 2015. Bettel and Destenay have been civil partners since 2010. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

The conference was newsworthy for many reasons beyond this event.

President Donald Trump scolded fellow NATO leaders at the event for not paying their fair share towards defense.

And, in an act that drove mainstream media out of its mind, the president seemed to push one world leader out of his way during a photo op.

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