Jeannie Mai Explains Why She Wants to ‘Submit’ in Marriage to Jeezy

Jeannie Mai is opening up about her decision to “submit” to her fiancé Jeezy after she gets married.

During an interview with “Entertainment Tonight” earlier this week, “The Real” host explained why she wants to take a submissive role when it comes to her relationship with the rapper.

“So, I’m gonna say right here, that I, Jeannie Mai, going in to my marriage—I want to submit to my man,” she said. “When I hear this definition … submitting has a negative connotation. It means that you are less important, you are lower than that person that you’re submitting to. It usually can be like, you know, referenced as somebody who works lower than you and that’s not what I’m referring to here.”

Speaking with “Tamron Hall” on Thursday, she clarified her headline-making comments, which were met with a mixed response on social media. “Well for me, submit does not mean that you are lower or less important than your man. Of course, [Jeezy] and I respect each other very equally,” she said. “What I mean is in my work life, in my actual life, I own my businesses, I run my team, I make all of the decisions and I lead entirely in the outside of my life.”

“So in my home, I want my man to lead,” Mai continued. “I want him to take in what I would like and what my wishes are, what my dreams are, and then incorporate it, making the overall decision that’s best for our vision together.”

She received backlash for her comments, but she remains unfazed. “Girl, I am 41, I don’t care what kind of pushback I get from other women out there,” said Mai. “This is my life and you know coming out of divorce and also making a major decision to marry again after being blessed to fall in love and finding such a beautiful person, I want to be very clear and open about how our life can be so that we make sure that our vision is aligned and that we both are empathetic to each other and know that this is the structure we’re going into. I think the biggest mistake that you can make is not communicating what you want and not setting it up for a win.”

Mai, 41, and Jeezy, 43, announced their engagement in April. Mai was previously married to Freddy Harteis for 10 years before their divorce was finalized in December 2018.

To show his support for his fiancée, who is currently competing on “Dancing With the Stars,” Jeezy rented out a billboard in Los Angeles with the number to vote for Mai and her pro dancing partner, Brandon Armstrong, ahead of the show’s Disney Night. In turn, she dedicated her “Married Life” dance to Jeezy on his 43rd birthday.

“That is the type of man he is, and I hope everyone seeing that now can understand why the mere gesture of dedicating a dance to him is the least I can do,” she told “ET.” “Because he truly is the love of my life.”

Jeezy is also getting in the talk show game. On Oct. 14, he is set to launch his FOX Soul talk series, “Worth a Conversation with Jay ‘Jeezy’ Jenkins.”