Hello ladies,
I hope you had a pleasant weekend.
In my previous newsletters, part 1 and part 2
I talked about my first hypergamous marriage and how it changed the trajectory of my life. In addition to a detailed breakdown of the financial dynamic, I had with my ex-husband before and after marriage.
Before I go into the final chapter, I want to answer a few questions I received from the amazing ladies in this community regarding my last newsletters.
Q : How many times have you been married? And are you married now?
A : I have been married twice. The first time was when I was 30-31, it lasted 3 years. The second time was when I was 40. I am still happily married ( I am almost 47 now).
Q : Is your second marriage hypergamous too?
A : Oh yes absolutely! I have always been intentional and proactive about dating financially successful men exclusively.
Q : Did you ever feel ashamed of your family?
A : I have never been ashamed of my close family ( mom, sister, stepdad, a few aunts and cousins..).
In my younger days, I would sometimes feel embarrassed about being related to certain family members who are no longer part of my life, mostly because of their behavior, not because of their financial and social standing. I have a big Lebanese family. And like in all families, some relatives are great, some are crazy.
I was mostly ashamed of my non-existent relationship with my deadbeat father. So I lied about it most of my life. I would pretend we had a normal relationship and that he was a normal father. Now I am more at peace with that, especially since he died a long time ago.
Q : Do you have any kids?
A : No, I have a stepson who is 13 now and I love him to death.
Q : Are you Muslim?
A : In the cultural sense, yes. Both my parents are Muslim. But to be honest, I am not a devout one.
Q : What was the ethnicity of your first husband? And what is the ethnicity of your current husband?
A : First was French of Italian descent. The current one is Arab from the Gulf region.
Q : Why do you use the term Gold-digger? Don’t you think it’s a little degrading?
A : It is a bit degrading due to the media representation. But I use it colloquially because it’s the only word that really gets my message across + it’s catchy. I believe we can reclaim it!
It has been used for so long to put women down for the simple reason that they had financial standards in their mating choices.
Q : Where are you from and where do you live?
A : I am French, born and raised. But originally I am half Lebanese half Iranian.
I grew up in the south of France, then moved to the Paris region for school and work, then moved back to the French Riviera when I got married for the first time… Now I live in the London region with my husband.
Q : Is your real name Celine?
A : No. I chose Celine as a pen name because it sounds a little bit like my real name. Also because I love Celine Dion.
Q : Why don’t you show your face and real identity?
A : I have way too much to lose and nothing to gain from revealing my identity. I am naturally a very private and discreet person in my real life. The topics I talk about are personal, sensitive, and controversial. I can’t be associated with it in real life. I have a family, businesses, and a status in society that could be damaged by it.
Q : Was it hard to find a good man with means as a divorced woman?
A : In my personal experience, no. On the contrary, in some weird way, being divorced from a well-established man raised my social status. More quality men approached me.
Also, I started dating again at 36. Men older than 40 usually have baggage too.
Q : What do your family and friends think about your hypergamous mindset?
A : Not much. I never really expressed it. France is a very egalitarian society. Women who think like me are stigmatized if they’re outspoken about their choices. I learned from a young age to keep these things to myself. I don’t need the world to agree with me or to validate my decisions.
A French saying that I live by: it’s better to die misunderstood than to spend your life explaining yourself.
Q: When are you going to post the rest of the podcast series?
A : Soon I hope 🙈
Q : What do you think about hypergamy creators?
A : I don’t know. It’s a very complex question. From what I have seen, most of them create pretty decent content in regard to general personal development.
Consume everything through a “ critical thinking “ filter, no one holds the absolute truth to anything.
Q : How do you deal with petty girlfriends?
A : I have dealt with my fair share of petty, jealous, and toxic girlfriends. The best and most effective way is to cut them out of your life. Don’t explain to them, don’t try to make them better people, don’t engage in comebacks… simply walk away and remove them from your life.
Okay, this is turning into a two-page post. I will keep this short and sweet. I hope you got to know me better through this little Q&A.
Feel free to respond to this email if you have any questions or feedback.
Stay tuned for my upcoming newsletters where I will dive deeper into my first business venture, its failures, and its successes, how I ended up FULLY owning that little hotel years after we divorced…
Céline, with love ❤
I am Celine Gray
I write about everything I learned from 25+ years of dating up and marrying up (twice).
If this is something that appeals to you, subscribe to my monthly newsletter where i talk (unapologetically) about hypergamy strategy, money, glamour, gold-digging economics, and how to make it to the top...the woman way...and be happy! (Guaranteed Fluff-free).
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