Gary lit the internet on fire when he took a picture with a model.
I thought nothing of it. Dude likes to hang around people and take photos. But the more I went through his Instagram photos, the more I realized this new woman was probably his girlfriend.
The comments under these posts bring into question everything Gary has ever said.
The family man persona of the humble Gary Vee
Gary got married to his wife Lizzie in 2004.
They have two kids, daughter Misha Ava Vaynerchuk and son, Xander Avi Vaynerchuk. Gary has never shared any photos of them online.
He rarely talks about his family and it’s a black box.
What he does talk about is his motto “family first.” Many people think of Gary as the hustle 24 hours a day until you burn out and enter an early grave guy. This has always been overplayed.
He believes in hard work but he’s obviously not stupid. Of course he believes we need rest. But the haters refused to change their minds.
On a recent podcast with Steven Bartlett he talks a little about his family for the first time. And how he spends plenty of time with them and wants to raise his kids right and teach them important lessons.
All that went out the door when the new woman entered the scene.
You can be successful and still get divorced
After Gary posted photos with his new woman the comments weren’t nice.
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- Screenshots taken by author from this Instagram post
Many of the extreme comments have now been deleted by Gary’s team (apparently). Gary hasn’t officially come out and said he’s divorced or getting one. But it’s obvious he’s probably separated from his wife Lizzie.
Image Credit: Mona Vand via Instagram (the new girlfriend)
Now comes the important bit…
So what if Gary isn’t with his wife anymore? How is that anyone’s business? More importantly, the undertones of the critiques are that he’s somehow a failure or a fraud for separating from his wife.
What the hell? Since when does being divorced make you a failure? Not everyone stays together forever. That’s a fairytale.
The divorce rate in America is roughly 50%.
Why the heck are we surprised? There was a one in two chance he was getting a divorce when he got married to Lizzie.
People fall out of love. People go through tough times.
But you know what else? People bounce back from divorce too. They don’t stay divorced forever. Plenty of people remarry or find love again.
A recruiter I used to work with went through a painful divorce. He lost most of his money and belongings to his ex-wife. She took their two kids. He took up running to escape the pain and found new friends.
Then he met a new girlfriend at a networking event. They fell in love. Then got married. Now they’ve got two kids together.
His ex-wife is now one of his best friends.
His children from his previous marriage and his current marriage are all friends too. They even go on family holidays together. He now realizes his first wife wasn’t the right person for him and they’ve made peace with that.
Mistakes happen.
The “family first” motto is alive and well
So the haters say Gary broke his family first motto.
By being separated and, perhaps divorced, he is a sellout. A liar. A thief. How dare he have love issues.
But I don’t agree. He still prioritizes his kids. He’s still a father. His morals haven’t changed. He can still spend his weekends with his new girlfriend and stay true to the family first way of life.
His new partner is a successful 36 year old entrepreneur too. Maybe they’re just a better fit. Maybe the long hours Gary works match with the long hours she works.
You never really know.
What we know for sure is being divorced doesn’t make you a failure. And it definitely doesn’t mean someone should be canceled and removed from society.
The bottom line with Gary Vee
It’s easy to throw dirt at public figures.
It’s easy to sound smart in the comments of an Instagram post having done nothing notable in your own life. It’s easy to be a critic and form an opinion from 10,000 miles away.
You never really know someone unless you live with them.
From what I can see, Gary looks happy and is doing the best he can. Isn’t that enough? Can’t he live in peace and date whoever he wants?
He can. And knowing people who know Gary personally, I can guarantee he will. Let’s cut people a break.
Any one of us could be in a failed relationship that ends in divorce. Have some compassion. And mind your own business.
