Jon Batiste has something special planned for fans for the upcoming Super Bowl opening ceremony. As he works to compose an unforgettable performance, the musician remains devoted to his wife, who is facing her third cancer diagnosis.

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On February 9, 2025, Jon Batiste will sing the national anthem at Super Bowl LIX. While continuing to make his mark in the music industry, he is also standing by his wife, Suleika Jaouad, as she battles cancer for the third time. Here’s a look at their love story.

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How Batiste Met, Fell in Love, and Married His Wife amid Her Second Diagnosis

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Batiste’s wife shared on Instagram how they met. In a post accompanied by photos of the couple, Jaouad revealed that she first met Batiste when she was 13 and he was a year older. They met at a place she finds embarrassing—band camp.

Over the years, she has learned more about the creative process from him than from any degree or craft book. Reacting to the post, one fan commented, “I didn’t know that! How cute!!”

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Batiste fell in love with music at an early age, starting to play the drums at eight. By 12, he had moved on to the piano, an instrument he quickly mastered. He has since become a renowned vocalist, composer, actor, arranger, and “harmonabord” player.

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In 2011, Jaouad was diagnosed with cancer for the first time, and doctors gave her only a 35 percent chance of survival. However, she defied the odds. After falling in love with Batiste, the couple married in February 2022—shortly after the then 33-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia for the second time.

Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2023, in Telluride, Colorado | Source: Getty Images

The “We Are” artist and his wife tied the knot in their new home after eight years together. The couple’s intimate wedding, attended only by close family, symbolized a fresh start. Batiste described their home as a sanctuary, a space that reflects both of them and serves as a place to recharge.

It took them three years to renovate, carefully selecting and building furniture, and adding details to make it perfect. Their marriage was a last-minute decision, making it even more intimate. The singer explained, “It was one of those things that we did the day before her bone marrow transplant, it was a very deep time in our lives, obviously for so many reasons.”

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The couple decided to go ahead with their wedding after realizing they had a small window before her transplant. Jaouad, the author of the bestselling cancer memoir “Between Two Kingdoms,” revealed that her diagnosis wasn’t what prompted Batiste’s proposal. The Grammy-winning musician had spent a year designing her engagement ring.

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He emphasized that her illness had no impact on his proposal and that her diagnosis didn’t change his feelings. Instead, it strengthened his resolve to commit to their future together.

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Laughing, Jaouad recalled, “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. This is not, you know, a hasty decision!”

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A few months later, Batiste shared an update on his wife’s condition, saying she was “doing better.” He added, “Every single day we are praying and continuing the — I mean, she is incredible,” noting that if you saw her, you wouldn’t know what she was going through.

Suleika Jaouad getting cancer treatment with the support of loved ones in a post dated December 30, 2024 | Source: Instagram/suleikajaouad

The musician further explained her resilience, “She has this ability to take the toughest challenges and make them life-affirming. So, with her it’s a special case. How she’s doing, it’s a Suleika thing.”