Peter Dutton speaks about daughter Rebecca, 21, who was born a year before he married wife Kirilly

Peter Dutton speaks about daughter Rebecca, 21, who was born a year before he married wife Kirilly

By Daily Mail Australia Reporter

Published: 09:19 BST, 22 August 2023 | Updated: 09:42 BST, 22 August 2023

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has spoken for the first time about the secret conception of his daughter Rebecca.

Rebecca, now 21, was born just weeks after Mr Dutton’s maiden speech in 2002 but very little was known about her for years.

She was born to another woman a year before Mr Dutton married his wife Kirilly – circumstances the Liberal leader describes as ‘difficult’.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has spoken for the first time about the secret conception of his eldest daughter Rebecca

Mr and Mrs Dutton with Rebecca and sons Tom and Harry

‘So Rebecca’s mum, Rachel, she, and I, weren’t together at the time of her birth,’ Mr Dutton tells Annabel Crabb on the ABC’s Kitchen Cabinet tonight.

‘And so that was, that was a difficult period. But Rebecca is 21 now and yeah. Just turned into the most beautiful young lady. You describe it as a mistake at the time, but the best mistake I ever made. She’s just a gorgeous girl.’

Crabb then puts it to Mr Dutton that his now-wife Kirilly was ‘obviously hugely accepting of your one-year-old that you had’.

He replies: ‘And yeah, she’s an amazing wife and an incredible mother and, you know, to the boys and to Rebecca as well.’

Mr and Mrs Dutton have two children together, sons Tom and Harry. 

Mr Dutton was first elected to Parliament in November 2001 and delivered his first speech there in February 2002.

Mr Dutton married Kirilly in July 2003

PETER DUTTON’S PERSONAL LIFE

November 18, 1970: Peter Dutton is born to builder Bruce Dutton and Ailsa Leitch

1993: Mr Dutton marries his first wife aged 22. The marriage ends after a few months

2002: Mr Dutton’s daughter Rebecca is born. He is not in a relationship with her mother, Rachel, at the time of the birth.

2003: Mr Dutton marries his second wife Kirilly, with whom he goes onto have two sons, Tom and Harry 

Rebecca was born weeks later but neither her or her mother were mentioned in his speech. She didn’t appear in family photos online until she was a teenager.

He instead spoke about his grandmother and siblings. 

‘My grandmother, who worked hard on the farm all her life, joins me today in the gallery,’ he said.

‘It makes me very pleased to see her well and enjoying this very proud moment for all of us. My parents, who have been my lifelong inspiration, are also with me today, as are my brother, sisters, family and close friends-the people who have stood with me through the ups and the downs, the highs and lows that life has to offer.’

Mr Dutton married Kirilly in July 2003.

He also had a short marriage to his first wife, who he married in 1993 but separated from just months later, 

The Leader of the Opposition previously told the ABC about his own struggles as a teenager when his parents, Bruce and Ailsa, divorced. 

‘I think I felt sort of disappointed and angry at the time that they weren’t able to work things out,’ he said.

‘But you know there’s always money pressure growing up. We were very lucky in terms of the environment that we grew up in. There was a lot of love and support. And we were all treated very well.’ 

Kitchen Cabinet airs tonight on the ABC at 8pm 

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