Yasmin Eleby, Woman Who Married Herself, Responds to Criticism: ‘I Wanted to Show My Self-Love, My Self-Worth, and My Self-Respect’

A lot of you love muffins had some harsh comments for 40-year-old Yasmin Eleby after photos of her self-wedding hit the Internet.

As we told you yesterday, Yasmin held a wedding ceremony in which she married HERSELF in front of family and friends.

Well, now Yasmin is speaking out against the criticism she’s received since the story went viral.

“I would love it if other people—men and women—had enough self-love and self-worth and they wanted to commit themselves to themselves,” says Yasmin. “I would say go for it. You cannot be with someone else if you don’t love yourself.”

In a conversation with The Root, Yasmin explained in detail her reasoning behind the wedding and why she doesn’t care what people think.

Yasmin Eleby: For a few years leading up to my 40th birthday, I’d been joking that if I didn’t have a wedding by 40 that I would just have one myself without a groom. I thought having a wedding ceremony would be a unique way to celebrate my 40th with my family and my friends. And the closer that it got, I realized I had to put up or shut up.

The Root: I’ve been reading the reactions to all the stories on you, and a common comment is, “Where were her friends? They didn’t stop her!” When you told your friends—like, “Hey, guys, I’m going to have a wedding and marry myself!”—what did they say?

Yasmin Eleby: Some of them didn’t believe me. They thought I was joking, but once I explained to them what it would be about, they were supportive.

The Root: When the invites for the ceremony went out to guests, what was their response?

Yasmin Eleby: Not very many people knew it was a wedding. It was kind of a surprise. The invitations just said come celebrate my birthday in a unique way. I invited two of my exes. They were both happy for me. They were excited about it once they got there and realized what was happening.

The Root: A lot of people have assumed that marrying yourself was an act of desperation. What exactly was the ceremony about for you?

Yasmin Eleby: The ceremony is not about me being bitter for not having a man. It wasn’t like, “OK, I’m upset that I’m 40 and don’t have a man.” I wanted to show myself my self-love, my self-worth and my self-respect. It was always about me loving me. When God sends me my husband, he will come, but until then, I’m OK with it just being with me.

The Root: What vows did you take during the ceremony?

Yasmin Eleby: The first one was about forgiving myself. We’ve all made mistakes. I had to realize that if I ask for forgiveness, then it’s done. I don’t have to keep dwelling on the past. I can let it go. My second vow was to honor myself as a beautiful, fabulous being, conscious of making decisions for myself and to honor my self-worth. The third vow was love. I made a promise to love myself and to know that the more love I have for myself, the more love I have to share with others.

The Root: This all sounds so sweet, but it’s been received in a much different light. What do you think of the reactions to your ceremony?

Yasmin Eleby: It has been blown way out of proportion. From the few comments that I’ve read, they’re trying to paint me as crazy or bitter about not having a husband, and that is so not the case. I’m not bitter, I‘m not crazy. I’m just a fun-loving unique individual, and I just wanted to do something special and different.

The Root: In hindsight, do you have any regrets about the ceremony?

Yasmin Eleby: Not one.

Now that she explained her intentions, do you guys still think she was doing the most?