Jay Shetty: How celeb ‘monk’ went from troubled schoolboy to officiating Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's wedding
BARNET, LONDON: Inspirational speaker and social media star, Jay Shetty, who ditched his lucrative career to spend three years in an Indian monastery, was the officiant who married Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck at their wedding this year.
The celebrity couple widely known as ‘Bennifer’ held a second marriage ceremony on Saturday, August 20, at Affleck's rural estate in Riceboro, a month after secretly tying knots in an intimate wedding in Las Vegas. However, the officiant who married them was not an A-lister or a celebrity American Priest, but an Indian man from North London who ditched his career to find inner peace before becoming a motivational speaker and a social media star.
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Hailing from Gujarat, India, Shetty was born and brought up in Barnet, London, to non-practicing Hindus. His mother hails from Gujarat while his father is from Tulu Nadu in southwestern India. After finishing his schooling at the Queen Elizabeth's School in Barnet he went on to graduate from the Bayes Business School.
Being a rebellious from the start, he soon started abusing drugs, fighting, and drinking while growing up. He told The Guardian in 2020, "I was lost at that time; I didn't know what I valued. The troublemaking wasn't fun – it was full of fear and guilt." His attitude got him suspended from school three times and he was facing expulsion. However, things started looking up for him when his father started experimenting with different kinds of spirituality due to his stressful job in the city.
He quit drinking at 18. He said that he didn't enjoy the way he behaved when he was drunk. He said, "I think I used to drink only out of ego and competition with drinking games and all that kind of stuff."
After deciding to get better, Shetty was happy with his average life and was set to pursue a career in finance after completing his graduation. While attending business school, he first heard Gauranga Das speaking about selflessness and living a minimalist lifestyle.
In his book, 'Think Like a Monk', he wrote, "That night, as I listened to the monk talk about his experience, I fell in love." He spoke with the monk after his talk and followed him for the remainder of his lecture circuit around the United Kingdom. Keeping Das’ saying in mind, Jay spent his next three years working at a finance firm. After spending three years chasing luxury, he decided to live full-time like a monk at the age of 22.
He spent his next three years in an Indian monastery, where he lived with monks. He would wake up at four in the morning, meditate for almost eight hours hours, studied timeless and served others in nearby communities. He shaved his head, abandoned his belongings, slept on the floor and studied ancient Indian scriptures.
After gaining 'inner peace', Shetty returned to London and started working in the city while making a career as a motivational speaker and life coach. He began sharing lessons on mental health and life on social media. He said that the methods he picked up had been "massively beneficial at mastering the mind."
In an interview to telling Eastern Eye in 2021, he said that he never expected the job to become a full-time career. He said, "I thought I would make videos in the evenings and weekends, go to my day job and do this as a hobby on the side because I loved and believed in it."
Now, Shetty has become an online star. He has 4.5 million subscribers on YouTube, 11.5 million on Instagram. His Facebook videos have been viewed 28 million times. He even started a podcast called ‘On Purpose’. Stars including Alicia Keys, Khloe Kardashian, and Kobe Bryant have appeared on his show which has been downloaded 64 million times. He became good friends with Jennifer Lopez through this podcast. In January, he joined the 'On the floor' singer for the first episode of 'Coach Conversations', a monthly YouTube series.
In the first episode titled 'What's Your Calling?' Shetty and Jennifer's conversation touched on themes such as finding your purpose, the difference between a 'calling' and a 'career,' and why striving for your best makes all the difference.
In February, Jennifer invited him to officiate four weddings that she organized as part of a PR stunt for her latest movie 'Marry Me'. His Instagram post about the same said, "When Jennifer Lopez asks you to officiate 4 weddings and speak on the power of love during her 'Marry Me' Special Performance you say yes."
Shetty had officiated the wedding of actress Lily Collins and director Charlie McDowell in Colorado in September 2021.