Sara Blakely, who was 37 when she married husband Jesse Itzler in 2008, shared her best piece of advice when it comes finding the one. Keep reading for the Spanx founder’s relationship tips.
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Spanx founder Sara Blakely knows a thing or two about finding the perfect fit.
On Feb. 14, the entrepreneur, who was 37 when she married husband Jesse Itzler in 2008, took to Instagram to talk all things romance in honor of Valentine’s Day. Alongside a video of herself and Jesse recounting their love story during a 2021 panel discussion with Tony Robbins, Sara had a message for all the “single ladies” out there.
“I was single for 37 years so I know a thing or two about Galentines Day,” she began. “My Dad always said, ‘Who you marry will be the most important decision, but it should be the easiest.’ Huh? I never understood that because if it was the most important decision, shouldn’t it be the hardest with the most thought and debate etc? Until BAM. I met @jesseitzler.”
Though their first date was at an “illegally hot sauna” that almost fried her roots, the 51-year-old recalled how “somehow I knew” Jesse was the one.
“One of the best things you can do for a relationship is to let your person wholly be themselves,” she continued. “Encourage them and support them on their path. Truly celebrate their wins, and the brighter their star shines, the happier you should feel. Embrace the good and the bad, the quirky and the boring.”
And even though they may not always see eye-to-eye, with Sara hilariously pointing out how Jesse’s always “asking for a banana after I’ve just made a fabulous meal,” the shapewear mogul shared that the best advice to channel is: “‘Don’t try to understand a man like that. Just love him.'”
Skip Bolen/Getty Images for Spanx
In the accompanying video, Sara—who shares son Lazer, 13, twins Charlie and Lincoln, 8 and daughter Tepper, 6, with Jesse—also spoke about how important it is to prioritize the relationship. Noting how Jesse was 40 when he finally tied the knot, Sara shared of their decision to wait, “We were old enough and had been down this journey of dating a lot of people that we knew that this was special and that we didn’t want to squander it.”
She added, “I wasn’t looking for Jesse to fulfill me or complete me. He wasn’t looking for me to fulfill him or complete me. I was just like ,’Wow this is a super amazing human, who is going to be fun to go on this ride with.’ And I want him to be 100 percent himself.”
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