Yes, we’re nearly there—soon, we will witness who’s going to take the ring back home. We have the Eagles’ defense standing tall like the Great Wall of China, and the Chiefs are ready to fight with their O-line. No matter the outcome, it’ll be historic just to watch them go at each other. But wait—don’t you think it’ll feel a little empty without the music? Well, Kendrick Lamar and Jon Batiste have us covered. While this was good news for the 38-year-old, the reality quickly flipped for him.

While Kendrick Lamar will make sure nobody stays humble in the Caesars Superdome, Jon Batiste will kick-start the event with his angelic performance of The Star-Spangled Banner. He has done it before at the NBA All-Star Game in 2017. But hey, today, we are not here to talk about how great he is—we already know that.

Behind almost every artist, there is a muse. And for Jon, it’s definitely his wife, Suleika Jaouad. She even inspired the track Show Me the Way. But life can be cruel sometimes, creating a lot of bumps on the road. Though their family might be stumbling for now, Jon Batiste is making sure that he’s there for his wife till the end.

What happened to Suleika Jaouad?

Suleika Jaouad is a woman with willpower that can inspire anyone. Why? She was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia when she was just a 22-year-old student pursuing her Undergraduate in Princeton University. It was a form of leukemia that was said to target the blood and bone marrow. She beat that cruel thing again in 2022.

But it crawled back in for the third time, and she’s currently fighting hard against it. Jon has been in awe of her resilience, saying, “She has this ability to take the toughest challenges and make it life-affirming. So, with her, it’s a special case. How she’s doing, it’s a Suleika thing.” There is no wonder why Jon is so inspired by her.

How did Jon Batiste meet his wife?

Their journey with each other started long ago. When they were just teenagers—Suleika was 13 and Jon was 14—they met at band camp, a place she once called “the most awkward place on earth.” Years later, as she battled leukemia, he showed up at her hospital with his entire band, filling the ward with music and joy. In February 2022, just before her bone marrow transplant, they secretly tied the knot, proving their love was built to withstand anything.