I know Jon Batiste as the bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he’s worked since 2015. He’s a prolific musician who has received multiple awards including a BAFTA, Oscar and Golden Globe. This year Batiste was nominated for 11 Grammys, which was more than any other artist. Most were for his eighth album, We Are, and he also received nominations for the soundtrack for Soul. He ended up taking home more Grammys than any other artist, five including Album of The Year. This made him the first Black man to win in that category since Herbie Hancock in 2008. (I wonder why that was.) Plus he’s only 35 years old! We’re going to be seeing so much more of him.
Batiste was interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning in a segment which aired this week. He explained that he doesn’t take his accomplishments for granted because things can change quickly. His longterm partner, author Suleika Jaouad, 33, has been undergoing treatment for a recurrence of leukemia. CBS spoke with each of them about their love story and about Suleika’s health journey. They both have a beautifully poetic way of speaking and although they were interviewed separately you can feel how connected they are. When Suleika explained that Jon wrote her lullabies he played for her over the phone every day she was in the hospital I cried so hard. The good news is that they recently got married in a small ceremony. They wanted to do it before Suleika’s bone marrow transplant, but they knew that they wanted to get married early in their relationship. They’ve been together eight years. I’m going to quote People Magazine here but I highly recommend you watch the video, below. There’s so much more from Jon about his music and relationship.
The Grammy winner, 35, secretly married longtime partner Suleika Jaouad in February. Jaouad, author of bestselling cancer memoir Between Two Kingdoms, told CBS Sunday Morning that the couple wanted to tie the knot after she was diagnosed with leukemia for the second time.
“We got married the day before I was admitted to the hospital to undergo my bone marrow transplant,” she told the outlet.
“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. So, we’ve had eight years,” Jaouad joked. “This is not, you know, a hasty decision!”
Despite the couple getting married before her bone marrow transplant, Jaouad, 33, said her diagnosis wasn’t really a factor in Batiste’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. 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,'” Jaouad told CBS. “But once we realized we had this tiny window before the bone marrow transplant, we decided to go for it.”
Batiste and Jaouad were able to get their marriage license quickly and had a “tiny” and “perfect” wedding, adding that they “used bread ties” instead of formal wedding rings.
“And I’ll tell you, we walked into that bone marrow transplant unit on cloud nine,” Jaouad added. “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.”
I’m not overselling this by saying this was one of the most moving celebrity interviews I’ve ever seen. I came away from this praying for Suleika and Jon and I’m not religious at all. Here are two deeply creative people who are dealing with some of the darkest times of their lives. They’re so young too! They’ve channeled that through their art. Jon is next playing Carnegie Hall in May. I will listen to more of his music and follow his career. I wish all the best for Jon and Suleika. They’re both lovely people. I’m so glad that they found each other and are there for each other.
What incredible blessings tonight 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/uDv2kx8X0N
— jon batiste (@JonBatiste) April 4, 2022
Photos credit: Avalon.red and Instar
I’m so glad you covered this CB!
I watched the interview on Sunday and since, have been encouraging everyone I know to watch it. They both seem so soulful & joyful and in love!
Batiste’s album is great as was his performance and acceptance speech at the Grammys.
+ 1, thank you CB for covering this! It seems like Jon has been touched by a divine light and it comes out in his music and words. His Oscar speech a year ago was really special, he collaborated with Trent Reznor and somebody else for the Pixar movie Soul. At that time Suleika was in remission and had published a book.Plus he led “love riots” for healing during BLM. Love as an act of defiance against the worst of our days. ❤
Alright, who’s the wise guy cutting onions up in here?
What a love story.
Bread ties for wedding rings made me laugh.
On a side note…dude’s gonna need a u-haul if he keeps collecting trophies (which I have no doubt he will)
I just came here to say that Jon Batiste has the best laugh in the world. When he laughs, I laugh. What a beautiful energy.
“Find that, meditate on that”…meaning that creative, healing, expressive side…powerful words for us all.
I’ve always found Jon Batiste’s approach laid back and almost spiritual….And this explains a great deal. Sending these two all the healing vibes in the world!
I looked at her book too…the excerpt grabbed me for sure
Also check out Suleika’s creative project (blog community, I guess) she started in the pandemic, “The Isolation Journals.” Every day she sent a beautiful, thoughtful journaling prompt out and then other writers got involved and it took on a life of its own.
How beautiful. Wishing them all the best.
Contrast that with Albert Pujols who announced he’s divorcing his wife of 20+ years a couple of days after she underwent brain surgery.
Congrats to Jon Batiste! He’s so talented.
If you were at all touched by this story, I highly recommend you read Suelika’s book “Between Two Kingdoms” about her cancer diagnosis and treatment in her 20s, as well as how she dealt with her recovery when she went into remission. I’m not much of a non-fiction reader, but I love her writing style.
I just want the absolute best for these two beautiful people.
THIS. Her memoir was so good -everyone should check it out.
Wishing these two nothing but the best
I was unfamiliar with him before the Grammys, but he seems like a really lovely guy (and obviously incredibly talented!). I wish him and his wife the best in such a tough time. What a beautiful love story.
Her memoir, Between Two Kingdoms, is so good, one of my favorite books last year. Thank you for covering this amazing couple!
Jon’s five Grammys were so well-deserved. His music is an instant mood enhancer for me.
Wishing both of them a happy, healthy and creative future together.
I’m crying.
Thanks for this story, I’ve only ever known him from the LAte Show with Stephen Colbert.
His Oscar winning speech is touching and special. “God gave us 12 notes…” and if you watch the video, Suleika was able to be in the Oscar audience with him.
I absolutely love Jon Batiste. WE ARE is such an excellent album, top to bottom. I thought it was amazing that he was able to release such a cheerful, bright album in these dark times, and hearing about what he’s been going through in his personal life makes that even more incredible. I’ve been leaning on that album a lot this past year. I wish the two of them nothing but the best. He is so deserving of these awards. And his live performance at the Grammy’s was absolutely charming! (“I don’t care if you have money, I have money too!)
Two beautiful souls.
I just want to say how refreshing it is to hear such kindness, love, and devotion in a time when I see those traits in rapid decline.
May they have a long and healthy life together.
I’ve been following Jon for years and it’s wonderful to see him receiving all of the accolades. He’s so talented and has such a deep love of music. He truly shines. Hearing about Suleika’s journey is amazing.
Batiste gave a really beautiful speech at the Grammys. This segment on CBS was so moving and feel so bad Suleika is going through this again. She had a blog in The NY Times Well section that chronicled her cancer treatment in her 20s which is still available, so really sad to hear she is going through this again. Jon Batiste was also profiled on Finding Your Roots last season. He really is such a interesting generous guy, so talented. Wishing her recovery and much love to them.
Thank you for covering this! I’ve been able to attend tapings of the Late Show a few times. Jon Baptiste is one of the best parts of the show! He is a brilliant musician, gifted bandleader and a genuinely nice person.
Now I have to read her book. I wish them only the best and hope for her complete recovery.
F*ck cancer!
I could not have survived my cancer diagnosis last year without my husband’s unflinching support and love. It was terrifying. I was utterly adrift emotionally and physically, and he kept me anchored.
Jon is adored here in New Orleans, and it’s been fun to watch his two alma maters (NOCCA and St. Aug) fight over who gets to claim him more. Y’all could probably hear this whole dang town losing our minds when he won Album of the Year.
Like you, Mr. Jaded’s support for me throughout my breast cancer treatment was what kept me from going out of my mind. I remember when the diagnosis came he said (as I sobbed uncontrollably on his shoulder) “Sweetie this isn’t a brick wall, it’s a bump in the road and I’ll be there with you every step of the way.” And he was, at every doctor’s appointment, the surgery and the after-treatment. Wishing you continued good health!
Honk for more stories about Jon Batiste.
And Colbert and Stay Human were so proud of him last night on the show.
I can imagine what the show will be like when he returns. 😃
💖💖💖
I just created a thing to log in so I could say *HONK HONK HONK*. More of this please!!
<3
He’s very talented and seems like such a cool person, and her book was amazing! I did not know they were together until I saw this. What a beautiful couple.