Livia and Octavianus
However, when she was pregnant with her second child at the age of nineteen, she was persuaded to divorce Tiberius Claudius Nero, in order to marry the young triumvir Octavianus in 38 B.C.. The marriage occurred very abruptly. This was for a number of significant reasons. One theory is that Octavianus was utterly and completely in love with Livia, who had astounding beauty. Another possible reason for the haste of the marriage was that Octavianus came from a family that was new to the nobility and not fully recognized by the older nobility. With Livia's position in a highly ranked family of the nobility, Octavianus would be more appealing as a leader both to the nobility, whose interests he would represent, and to the soldiers and common folk who respected them. The marriage was arranged by Livia's first husband and, being a loyal and respectful wife, she complied. She was devoted to her new husband and was consulted by him about issues concerning the governing of the empire. No one in the upper classes of Rome would have been surprised that Livia was consulted by her husband before he made serious political decisions. Her job and mission was to support and back his ambitions and goals and, in doing this, she had to make a number of sacrifices. For example, when she married Octavianus, she sent her children to live with their biological father until his death. Also, a few years earlier Octavianus and his army had killed a number of her family and friends. This she was required to overlook.
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