Jeannie Mai clarifies comments about wanting to be submissive in her marriage: 'You willingly submit, not forcibly submit'

Talk-show host previously said: ‘When I come home, I like the idea that my man leads us’

Jeannie Mai has defended her assertion that she wants to be submissive in her marriage to rapper Jeezy.

The Real co-host first made the comments during an episode of the talk show last week, where she said: “Going into my marriage, I want to submit to my man.”

During the segment, Mai acknowledged that submission has a “negative connotation,” before explaining that her reasoning has more to do with her work/life balance.

“I'm a very dominant woman. I own my business, I lead my teams, I played my own manager, my own publicist, my own lawyer when I didn't have money to have those people,” she said. “So, I make the decisions in my life.

“When I come home, I like the idea that my man leads us.”

According to Mai, that doesn’t mean that her future husband will make “all the decisions for us,” but rather that he will take a joint decision and “formulate it with our overall vision.”

"That doesn't mean that in this case Jay makes all the decisions for us. That doesn't mean that when he says: 'How are we spending our money?' or 'Where are we moving?' that I just say: 'Yes sir,' or 'Yes, your honour,’” she explained. “It's not that. It's a: 'You know what? I think that we would do best here, I want to do this,' and he takes the decision, he formulates it with our overall vision, and he leads us and I like to submit to that.”

The comments were met with backlash from some viewers, prompting the 41-year-old host to clarify her meaning on Instagram.

Sharing a photo of herself, Mai wrote: “By giving the power to have someone lead in your life is power in itself. The power to relinquish control. You ‘willingly submit’ not ‘forcibly summit.’”

The talk-show host also defended herself during an appearance on The Tamron Hall Show, where she said: “I am 41. I don’t care what kind of pushback I get from other women. This is my life.”

Mai also discussed her relationship with her fiancé, adding: "Jay is my king, so I want him to understand what I look forward to in the role and he has to honour his queen.”