And suddenly the sky cleared, providing glorious rays of sunshine to the newlyweds as they left the Church of the Madeleine in Paris on June 5th. Sign. Sign. The one they were waiting for. Both. Hope sank into my heart. “I’m sure my parents were there, as was Carlos, Jimena’s father, who left us four years ago. This light that accompanied our departure was happiness that returned to our lives after such a cruel year,” admits Gaston, 30, the youngest of Thierry and Beatrice Ardisson. Gaston, with a toothy smile like his illustrious father. Gentle and energetic, just like his mother. In less than a year, he had to endure a double loss. First there was Thierry, who died of cancer on July 14, 2025, then Beatrice, who suffered from the same disease and died last February.
“I knew they were on probation, but I didn’t expect them to leave so quickly. It was a shock. They never complained. Obviously, we asked ourselves about maintaining this ceremony. We had two options: either drown, or switch to the side of life and celebrate the love that Ximena and I have for each other and that our parents have seen developing over all these years. I thought about the last words my mother said to me three days before departure: “nerves.” She did not want us to give up. So, we honored their memory at every moment.” On the eve of the wedding, Gaston spent the night in his father’s apartment on the Rue de Rivoli, in this famous cabinet of curiosities, which remained as is and which could one day become a museum, according to the last wish of the man in black, as he was called. “There I felt his presence, but it was necessary to move forward,” he humbly emphasizes. The children in the procession, including the children of her sisters Ninon and Manon, held the hydrangeas that Beatrice loved so much. Ximena entered the church in the arms of one of her brothers to the tune of “My Dear Papa.” Audrey Crespo-Mara, Thierry’s wife, read the text in honor of the “man of her life”, Beatrice, with whom she got along so well. and Simena’s father.
Gaston Ardisson and his wife Ximena
Photos by Jean Picon and Clea Bere.
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“This wedding is the first happy event in several months,” rejoices the TF1 journalist. “It was touching because we never stopped thinking about the dead, convinced that they were watching over us all, but we tried to make this moment joyful, and we succeeded.” Like this couple. Sunny and sweet. They knew each other for nine years. At that time, Gaston’s best friend fell in love with Ximena’s best friend, a Mexican. A friendly quartet is taking shape. Ximena has just arrived in Paris to continue her studies in finance. Gaston leaves his bags in the capital, having lived for ten years in the Then the duo get to know each other yet, but they undoubtedly share the same values. “We became the best friends in the world,” whispers the 33-year-old young woman, a financial manager at a consulting firm. “And four years ago we took the plunge. “Yes, to be honest, we flirted in the first years, but then each of us moved on with our lives. Despite these two steps forward, two steps back, we have never violated our friendly agreement. And then one day I dared, and it happened in a very natural way,” Gaston is still surprised, as are their families. “Ximena worked a lot with my mother. They had a very difficult relationship. When I relaxed a little, my sisters said the following to me: “It’s true, it’s sad that your parents aren’t at the party, but they saw you and your wife for four years, they were happy for you.” These words calmed me down. »
Gaston and Ximena surrounded by family
Photos by Jean Picon and Clea Bere.
On holiday in the south of France, where Thierry Ardisson offered her a home before leaving this world, Audrey Crespo-Mara also learned about this new life. Hurt. “I’m not going to lie to you: I still miss him so much. Time doesn’t change anything. But I’m lucky to be surrounded by my children, and also Thierry’s children. Besides, everyone will come and join me here on the anniversary of his disappearance.” A blended family, loving and close-knit, which owes much to Audrey’s calming influence in recent years. “She did everything she could to bring us closer to our father,” confirms Gaston. He changed. He softened, relaxed. He was more serious before. Audrey brought him a lot of benefit,” she answers with humility. “I did everything to bring Thierry together with his children, because he worked hard, so he felt that he had not seen enough of how they grew up. For me, growing up in a close, loving family, it was unthinkable that this did not concern him and his children. childhood, a mother whom he considered unloving and who herself was abandoned in a toy store at the age of 6. He did everything he could, perhaps clumsily at times, but he loved them. And they were always grateful. “He was a good father,” she tells us, while emphasizing the striking similarities between Thierry and Gaston, “whether physically or in character, he was often dressed in black, with a cigarette in his mouth, and behaved provocatively. In church, he wanted to walk down the aisle. in the arms of the sisters, the priest opposed this, allowing only one of them to accompany him. He pretended to nod, and arrived with the two of them, like his father, a free spirit as a legacy.
This article can be found in Gala No. 1726, on newsstands July 9. To follow the news live, you can join Gala’s WhatsApp thread . New release Gala on newsstands Thursday, July 16, 2026. Happy reading!