The 'What a Wonderful World' crooner secretly ties the knot with his longtime partner in a 'tiny' ceremony after she's diagnosed with leukemia for the second time.
- Apr 4, 2022
AceShowbiz - Jon Batiste is officially a married man. The "What a Wonderful World" crooner had a "perfect" secret wedding with his longtime partner Suleika Jaouad days before her bone marrow transplant in February.
"We got married the day before I was admitted to the hospital to undergo my bone marrow transplant," Suleika told "CBS Sunday Morning". She went on to explain, "We have known that we wanted to get married, I think, from the first week that we started dating. That's when Jon first brought up the topic of marriage to me."
Suleika later stressed that the decision to get married after she was diagnosed with leukemia for the second time wasn't "a hasty decision." The author of bestselling cancer memoir "Between Two Kingdoms" said, "So, we've had eight years. This is not, you know, a hasty decision!"
Despite the couple getting married before her bone marrow transplant, Suleika said her diagnosis wasn't really a factor in Jon's decision to pop the question. "He said to me, 'I just want to be very clear, I'm not proposing to you because of this diagnosis.' " she quoted the Grammy-winning artist.
" 'It's taken me a year to design your ring. So, just know this timing has nothing to do with it. But what I do want you to know is that this diagnosis doesn't change anything. It just makes it all the clearer to me that I want to commit to this and for us to be together,' " Suleika told the outlet. She added, "But once we realized we had this tiny window before the bone marrow transplant, we decided to go for it."
Suleika shared that she and Jon had a "tiny" and "perfect" wedding, adding that they "used bread ties" instead of formal wedding rings. She also noted that she felt grateful to be able to get their marriage license quickly.
"And I'll tell you, we walked into that bone marrow transplant unit on cloud nine," said the author. "We were so happy, so brimming with love and positivity from this beautiful evening that we'd had. And I really believe that that carried us through."
During the 64th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, April 3, Jon took home five awards, including Best Music Video and Album of the Year, after receiving a whopping 11 nominations. Following his big wins, the "Freedom" singer was asked about the "duality" of the moment given the situation in his personal life.
"It puts it in perspective. Life has ups and downs. And sometimes the ups and downs occur at the same time," Jon said. "And when you have that happening, it really lets you know by shaking your consciousness and saying, 'Be present. Be here.' So what's going on back home and what's happening today are both in their proper place for me."
