Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad Secretly Married After She Was Diagnosed With Leukemia a Second Time

etonline.com:

Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad are holding onto the light amid some unexpected darkness. The 35-year-old musician, who was the most-nominated artist at the 2022 Grammys, and longtime girlfriend Suleika, an author, revealed in an interview for  that they secretly wed in February, on the eve of her bone marrow transplant as she battles Leukemia a second time.  «It's an act of defiance,» Jon said of tying the knot. «The darkness will try to overtake you, but just turn on the light.

Focus on the light. Hold onto the light.»After eight years together, the two became wife and husband with the help of bread ties, which they used in the absence of rings, and a marriage license procured while Suleika was in the operating room getting a catheter placed in her chest. «That night we went and bought our wedding outfits together, very last-minute, lots of laughter,» she said, according to CBS News. «But it was, you know, not anything like what we'd imagined.

There were maybe four people present. It was private. It was tiny. And it was perfect.»As happy newlyweds, Suleika said they were «brimming with love and positivity» as they headed into her transplant the next day. «I really believe that that carried us through,» she said. «That sense of community, that sense of love, that sense of joy and spontaneity were so important.»While organizing the nuptials may have been hasty, making the decision to tie the knot was not. «He said to me, 'I just want to be very clear, I'm not proposing to you because of this diagnosis.

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.