"I've given up on love." Everything Gladys Berejiklian has said about her relationship with Daryl Maguire.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has earned a reputation in parliament for being fiercely professional and private. So last Monday, when she admitted to being in a five-year relationship with disgraced former MP Daryl Maguire, it was a shock to both her colleagues and constituents alike. 

The public disclosure was a “personal nightmare,” she told reporters.

The admission raised concern, with questions being asked about how much information the premier knew of her partner's dodgy dealings. Maguire - who was the member for Wagga Wagga from 1999 to 2018 - faced the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) last week to assist their investigation into whether he used his political position for personal financial gain. (The ICAC has not yet made any suggestion of wrongdoing on the premier’s part.)

Watch: Gladys Berejiklian admits to a "close personal relationship" with former MP Daryl Maguire. Post continues below. 

But what exactly was the nature of Berejiklian and Maguire's relationship? Here's what we know. 

Gladys Berejiklian and Daryl Maguire's relationship.

Berejiklian, whilst giving evidence at the inquiry, said their "close personal relationship" began in 2015 and ended a few months ago.

Asked why their relationship was not public knowledge, she said it was partly because it may have been considered "awkward" for a premier to have a personal relationship with a member of parliament. 

"More substantially, I'm a very private person and I didn't feel the relationship had sufficient substance for it to be made public," Berejiklian continued.

Speaking to reporters on Monday afternoon, she shared: "This was a relationship I did not share with anybody - not my family, not my closest friends. 

"It was not a relationship that I regarded of sufficient status."

Daryl Maguire was in a relationship with Gladys Berejiklian for five years. Image: Getty. 

Despite her insistence it was not a 'serious' relationship, the premier painted a slightly different picture over the weekend.  

On Sunday, Berejiklian revealed exclusively to The Daily Telegraph's journalist Annettte Sharp that she had fallen in love with Maguire. 

"I’m embarrassed now, but I did," she told the publication, who added that she "thought [their relationship] could" lead to marriage. 

In the wake of the upset, Berejiklian seems disheartened from finding love again. 

“I can formally say to people I’ve given up on love,” she told the publication. “I’m just going to say I have always put my job first, rightly or wrongly, and that will now continue indefinitely.”

As for she's still in contact with Maguire, she shared she will "never speak to him again".

"This was a relationship I did not share with anybody - not my family, not my closest friends." Image: Getty.   

In 2019, before the public revelation of her romance, Berejiklian shared with Mamamia why she is so private about her personal life.

“I’ve seen phenomenal women on both sides of politics come before me, and no one is focusing on their policies and what they did,” she reflected. “I just made a conscious decision – I watched that, I watched these other women and what these other leaders went through.

"I'd rather be regarded as boring or a workaholic rather than detracting from my role. Because I am not embarrassed to say, I do a good job and I do it a lot better than a lot of men would."

Berejiklian has never been married and doesn't have children (although she does have six godchildren).

"I think if an opportunity comes up you grab it. If something happens and you need to make a decision, make it. Had I met the right person? Of course I would be married. But that doesn't happen for everyone at the right time.

"People are interested I get it, but people shouldn't make assumptions about what decisions women make or don't make. It might not be because they haven't tried, or don't want to, it just happened this way."

You can read Berejiklian's full interview with The Daily Telegraph here. 

Feature image: Getty. 

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