The second wedding of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck will be nothing if not spectacular, so it only makes sense that each and every detail falls in line with making it the most memorable day ever. From the chosen venue to the guest list, everything has been carefully plotted out, and the officiant of the ceremony is no exception.
Globally-renowned monk turned motivational speaker Jay Shetty has been handpicked by JLo herself to preside over the nuptials, which has set the internet abuzz. Either you know him and you’re incredibly excited by the news, or you’re not familiar with the name and intrigued to learn more.
Either way, we have everything you need to know about Jay Shetty right here.
Who is Jay Shetty?
34-year-old Jay Shetty is an author, life coach and former Hindu monk, of Indian descent. After meeting a monk while at business school, Shetty found himself eager to learn more about the practice, spending time in the Hare Krishna movement and eventually living a Vedic monk lifestyle for three years at an ashram in Mumbai, India.
Later in his career, he worked in digital strategy at Accenture, before being scouted by Arianna Huffington, who hired him to produce videos for the Huffington Post. In 2018, he created the most viewed video on Facebook which garnered 360 million views.
In April 2020, he released his book, Think Like a Monk, which quickly became a bestseller. In it, he shares his wisdom on reducing stress and improving focus, all of which he learned while at the ashram.
In 2021, Shetty and wife, Radhi, launched Sama Tea, an adaptogenic brand inspired by Ayurvedic practices. This year, he joined the meditation app Calm, as its first Chief Purpose Officer.
Unsurprisingly, Shetty now has 11.5 million Instagram followers and is adored by people all over the world. His podcast, On Purpose, has seen him interview some of the biggest names in the world, from Deepak Chopra and Tony Robbins to Vanessa Hudgens and Gwyneth Paltrow. The podcast reached 64 million downloads during its first year, and in 2020, Forbes declared it the number one health podcast in the world.
How does Jay know JLo?
Lopez and Shetty have known each other since January 2021, when they collaborated on an episode of Coach Conversations — a Youtube series where people discuss all aspects of life from culture to creativity. In the series’ first episode—titled “What’s Your Calling?” —J.Lo and Jay discussed how they found (and kept finding) their purpose.
A few months later, JLo appeared as a guest on Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, where she shared her advice for helping people realise their full potential.
“Everything I do, I want it to have a purpose to it,” she said. “I want to remind people to own their power. Be your best self at every moment, even when the cameras are not on.”
Since their initial collaborations, the pair continued to stay in touch, with Lopez even asking Shetty to officiate four couples’ weddings for her movie promotion, Marry Me.
Shetty took to Instagram to share his joy writing: “When Jennifer Lopez asks you to officiate 4 weddings and speak on the power of love during her Marry Me Special Performance you say yes.”
As for more high-profile officiant duties, Shetty also married Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell in Colorado last September, so Bennifer isn’t the first celebrity couple he’s worked for.
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