Jeannie Mai is defending herself after receiving backlash for saying that she wanted to “submit” to her fiancé Jeezy once they tie the knot.
Last week, Mai admitted that she is a “very dominant woman” but wants to “submit to my man,” during an episode of “The Real.” She explained, “When I come home, I like the idea that my man leads us.”
Several fans slammed Mai as having an outdated perspective of a woman’s role in marriage but 41-year-old Mai doubled down on her stance on Monday.
“By giving the power to have someone lead in your life is power in itself,” she wrote in an Instagram post, adding, “The power to relinquish control. You ‘willingly submit’ not ‘forcibly submit.'”
She received an outpouring of support on her post with fans agreeing that she has a right to choose how the power dynamic should be in her own relationship.
Mai also defended herself during an interview on the “Tamron Hall Show,” saying last week, “I am 41. I don’t care what kind of pushback I get from other women. This is my life.”
She continued, “Coming out of divorce and also making a major decision to marry again after finding such a beautiful person, I want to be very clear and open about how our life can be so we can make sure our vision is aligned and that we both are empathetic to each other.”
Mai and Jeezy, 43, got engaged in April. They were first linked as a couple in January 2019 and made their romance Instagram official in September.
The TV host was previously married to Freddy Harteis but they split in 2017 after 10 years of marriage.