What we know about Alice Weidel, the far-right German politician with a Sri Lankan-born wife

In August and September 2026, a popular meme claimed to show the alleged contradictory positions of Alice Weidel, leader of the far-right German political party Alternative for Germany, known in Germany by the abbreviation AfD. The meme states that Weidel is anti-immigration yet has an immigrant wife, supports anti-LGBTQ+ policies but is a lesbian, and opposes adoption for LGBTQ+ families despite having adopted two children. 

The claim states:

Alice Weidel becomes the first leader in the world who is anti-immigration but has an immigrant wife, is anti-LGBTQ+ but is a lesbian herself, opposes LGBT adoption but has adopted two children, and is a hardcore German nationalist but lives in Switzerland.

While Weidel has stood by her party’s positions on immigration and LGBTQ+ issues—while expressing minor disagreements on occasion—we have not been able to verify certain details of her personal life directly from her, and as a result we have relied on her interviews and reporting from other sources. Snopes reached out to AfD to learn more and will update this post accordingly. Until we have more information, we will keep this claim unrated.

Below we break down the truth behind several of the above claims. The above meme is largely true in that Weidel has a Sri Lankan-born wife with Swiss citizenship, while also supporting anti-immigration policies. Despite her party’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies, she has said there is “no contradiction” between her personal life, her belief that same-sex couples deserve equality, and her public advocacy for a “traditional” family. 

While Weidel is at the time of this writing the most prominent leader internationally associating with a party that contradicts her personal lifestyle, she is not the only public figure to follow this pattern. For example, U.S. President Donald Trump’s ally and former Acting Director for National Intelligence, Richard Grenell, is openly gay despite having opposed pro-LGBTQ+ policies. 

Weidel’s family life

A 2021 interview with the German politician’s Sri Lankan-born wife, Sarah Bossard, noted that the couple was in a registered partnership. We should note that as of July 1, 2022, same-sex marriages are allowed in Switzerland and new registered partnerships are no longer offered. We reached out to the AfD to learn if Weidel and Bossard legally converted their partnership to a marriage and will update this post accordingly.

In a televised interview, Weidel said Bossard, whom she referred to as her wife, became Swiss through adoption as a child, not through “migration”:

INTERVIEWER: You brought your wife along; she was born in Sri Lanka. Is that sort of thing ever discussed at home — given that it touches on something fundamental?

WEIDEL: It’s not about skin color. And my wife — as you’ve just done yourself — is labeled as having a “migration background.” My wife is Swiss and was adopted; consequently, she doesn’t view herself as having a migration background.

In a 2021 interview, Bossard noted that she grew up in Biel, Switzerland. A 2025 NBC News report said the couple resided in Willerzel, a village in Switzerland. A 2025 Time magazine profile noted they have a home in Switzerland and their sons attend school there. 

According to The New York Times, they are raising two sons together. According to the Financial Times, their sons are adopted. Pink News, an outlet focused on LGBTQ+ news, said Bossard gave birth to the sons and Weidel adopted them. Snopes was unable to determine the exact circumstances of the sons’ adoption and whether they are biologically related to either parent.

AfD’s positions on LGBTQ+ rights, immigration and adoption

Weidel’s AfD party opposes same-sex marriage and does not support same-sex adoption, according to German news outlet DW. The party website states: 

We, the AfD, as the only serious political force, have the will to counter the family policy failures of recent decades with clear political measures. We will put the family, consisting of father, mother and as many children as possible, back in the center of political and social thinking and action. With us, parents get the best possible conditions for starting and managing a family and our children the best possible chances of good and healthy development.

Weidel addressed her party position in an interview: 

Well, we live in a completely different reality now. Same-sex relationships should be treated as equal. But if I, as a politician, speak of a societal ideal—and that happens to be the traditional family—then I am entitled to advocate for it. There is no contradiction there.

Weidel also said the party position “was written by conservatives who might not see things exactly the way I do. As for me personally … my children have the best upbringing and the best foundation — let them write whatever they want. I live a different reality.”

She has also reportedly said, “I’m not queer, I’m just married to a woman who I’ve known for 20 years.”

In a 2021 interview, Bossard criticized a campaign against marriage equality in Switzerland: 

The campaign is not only distasteful, but completely misses our reality of life. I would have wished the committee would have more closely experienced the people and life constellations that it is criticizing. But that also shows what is still going on in the minds of some people. This is why marriage equality is an important step towards changing that.

AfD has a firm anti-immigration policy and calls for more local skilled workers. In 2025, in an interview with billionaire Elon Musk, Weidel said former German Chancellor Angela Merkel “ruined” the country after she “opened our borders through illegal immigration.” Weidel also said Germany allowed migrants to “throw away” their passports and papers before entering the country in order to avoid deportations. 

Snopes has previously reported on false claims that migrants committed mass sexual assaults in Germany.

Snopes reporters Laerke Christensen and Aleksandra Wrona provided the German translations in this report. 

Sources