Mia Khalifa’s name is synonymous with the adult film industry, much to her (partial) regret. However, following her departure from the industry, she has become a successful influencer, entrepreneur, and feminist icon with a great net worth.
Instead of trying to adopt a more private existence, Khalifa, real name Sarah Chamoun, has leaned into her notoriety to help promote her overall brand. However, not just her brand has been drawing attention lately.
Highlights
- Mia Khalifa criticizes matrimony, advocates divorce by 30.
- Viral TikToks spark mixed reactions on Mia's marriage views.
- Khalifa's past shapes her candid marriage, divorce opinions.
- Emily Ratajkowski echoes Mia's sentiments on young divorce.
- Khalifa deflects feminist label, cites imposter syndrome.
At just 31 years old, Mia’s personal life has been a topic of great interest for both fans and critics. Her romantic relationships seem to attract the most attention.
These past unions, primarily her two marriages, have led Khalifa to become an outspoken critic of wedlock and an advocate for divorce. In this piece, we dive deeper into her past romances and how her ideas around matrimony and partnerships have drawn praise and criticism.
Mia Khalifa’s Views on Marriage and Relationships
Mia’s unique past as an adult film star and two unsuccessful unions may have shaped her outlook on matrimony and relationships.
In the summer of 2023, Khalifa posted a stitch to TikTok that disagreed with @madisonjade’s original video for “engagement rings for the cool bride.” Khalifa quickly cuts off the original video in the stitch with her own content, stating, “Everyone knows the real cool girls get divorced before 30.”
[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@miakhalifa/video/7262070106123947306?lang=en[/embed]
A lot of the 700-plus comments on the five-second stitch were positive, with many users supporting the sentiments.
User @glucc8893 wrote, “Yes!... married at 18 divorced at 28. Marriage is not what it’s cracked up to be.” However, some were quick to disagree. @clue2life wrote, “Wow…. You’re going to die alone if you don’t make peace with your demons. Men are not the enemy.”
The following day, Khalifa doubled down on her views about marriage. She posted a follow-up video on TikTok in response to @phoeniks_12’s comment from her previous stitch; she jokingly stated the women were now comparing stats.
While holding a cigarette or rolie, Khalifa discloses the ages of her first two marriages and subsequent divorces and the fact that she ended a third, long engagement but kept the ring at the age of 30.
Khalifa then gives her opinions on matrimony in the video, which now has over 200,000 likes and nearly 6,000 comments.
In a viral video, she states, “Marriage isn't a sanctimonious thing. It is paperwork… It’s a commitment you make to someone … if you feel like you’re not getting anything from that commitment, and you’re trying, you gotta go.”
[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@miakhalifa/video/7262135829320125742?lang=en[/embed]
Users were quick to express their feelings. Unlike her video the previous day, many of the comments disagreed with Mia’s stance on wedlock.
@hunnerco, whose comment received nearly 2,000 likes, sarcastically responded, “I'm the best person for marriage advice.” @mladymakaveli wrote, “Marriage is sacred; stop treating it so casually... Divorce is not a cool brag.”
Others supported Mia’s thoughts, with @macalin commenting, “I love the way you think [for real] it’s so freeing.”
Opinion of Psychologist Daniel Hoadley
While there certainly could be merit in what she's saying here, it sounds like Mia might be experiencing something called Cognitive Dissonance. This is the uncomfortable feeling you get when your experiences don’t match up with your beliefs. In her case, she’s had failed marriages, which might clash with the idea that marriage is supposed to be a happy, lifelong commitment.
To make herself feel better about this, she could be convincing herself that marriage is a bad idea altogether. By saying that marriage is terrible, she’s aligning her beliefs with her experiences, which helps ease that uncomfortable feeling. It’s a way of justifying what happened to protect herself from feeling like she failed. – Daniel Hoadley
Criticism and Controversy Surrounding Her Advice
Many will find Mia’s advice ironic, considering her own past. Regardless of her involvement as an adult film star, she was twice wed and, according to her, engaged for a third time. Maybe having wed at such a young age, she feels distinctly qualified to give advice on this; she’s been through it. Twice.
However, as seen from her TikTok comments, many disagree with her stance on legal unions and separations. In an age when partnerships seem to be frequently ending in divorce, particularly those in Hollywood, many people are still keen to hold onto the sanctity of marriage and what it stands for.
Some people have accused Khalifa of encouraging women to leave their husbands. Others feel her message will teach young women that meaningful lifelong commitments don’t exist.
TikTok users have since stitched Mia’s viral video featuring her advice with their own take. @tailahofficial, who has over 500,000 followers, wholeheartedly disagrees with Khalifa; she says marriages fail because they are viewed like a business contract. Matrimony shouldn't be about fulfilling the needs of the other.
According to @tailahofficial, “The whole purpose of marriage is sacrifice, it’s love, and it’s to serve the other person.” She believes that if there are problems, the couple should work to fix them, not divorce and jump into something new.
[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@tailahofficial/video/7298414693746609438[/embed]
Interestingly, Khalifa’s views aren't that different. In an interview with Steven Barlett on The Diary Of A CEO podcast, she said that her first marriage failed because, among other things, “I did not like myself… I think insecurity leads you to do things for validation that you otherwise wouldn’t if you were secure in yourself… like relationship choices.”
In some ways, she agrees with @tailahofficial that marriage isn't there to fulfill your own needs, suggesting you must be comfortable with yourself before entering into wedlock.
Mia Khalifa’s Influence on Modern Relationship Discussions
While Mia’s controversial statements have drawn plenty of support and censure, she has opened a conversation about modern partnerships.
Shortly after Mia’s videos were posted, Emily Ratajkowski, who also divorced at a young age, expressed similar sentiments.
In her September 2023 TikTok video, she reflects on being married in her 20s, stating, “having tried that married fantasy and realizing that it’s maybe not all it’s cracked up to be, and then you’ve got your whole life still ahead of you.” She then went on to congratulate her divorced viewers.
[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@emrata/video/7275780895607491882[/embed]
In a 2024 interview with The New York Times, Ratajkowski reiterated her position: “I would like there to be a perspective that allows space for the fact that leaving a relationship is often a remarkable and brave act.”
Her comments came after she posted photos to Instagram of her newly designed “divorce rings” — created from the diamonds of her engagement ring.
Like Khalifa, Ratajkowski seeks to remove the destructive stigmas associated with the end of a union. Both women are considered feminist icons and offer their interpretations of marriage based on their previous experiences with unsuccessful unions.
However, Khalifa feels uncomfortable being labeled a feminist. In an October 2024 interview with The New York Times Podcast, she acknowledged that she feels imposter syndrome related to that description but hopes that her feminist attitudes highlight some critical issues she discusses, such as reproductive rights and human trafficking.
Given Khalifa’s experiences, her perspective on wedlock may offer reassurance and insight to those women who feel ashamed of having a divorce or may be considering one. Conversely, it may also serve as a cautionary tale for anyone unmarried.
Despite some emotional reactions, Khalifa’s underlying message is that a woman’s happiness should be prioritized. She believes people should engage in matrimony when they’re ready and when both partners are confident in their own skin.
Mia Khalifa Is No Stranger to Controversy
Following Mia’s videos about marriage, the subsequent attention she received is nothing new for the influencer. She has faced plenty of criticism and controversy regarding her involvement in the adult film industry and her outspoken opinions on many topics.
When she first entered the world of adult entertainment, her most popular video featured her wearing a hijab during an explicit scene. In an interview with Evie Magazine, Klaifa reported that once the news broke of the sensitive content, she received threats from ISIS to end her life.
More recently, Khalifa has been quite vocal about the conflict in the Middle East and her support for Palestinians. She regularly reposts tweets and information on this topic on X.
Because of her outspoken stance, Playboy ended a podcast deal with Khalifa in 2023. She was also dropped as an advisor to Red Light Holland, a magic mushroom supplier, for the same reason (per Newsweek).
Mia Khalifa’s First Marriage
Despite her harsh comments about marriage, Khalifa has herself been wed twice. Khalifa started dating her first husband (Wyatt O’Brien) when she was 16. She claims O’Brien was significantly older than her, with about an 8-year age difference. They married in Vegas; the wedding was an elopement four days after her 18th birthday.
However, in her 2023 conversation with Steven Bartlett, Khalifa describes her first union as something she never should have been in. She depicted her relationship as being “with someone who was extremely abusive, extremely dangerous in the sense that … it was grooming.”
She alleges it was O’Brien who encouraged her to join the adult entertainment industry and that the motivation behind the encouragement was “fetishization.”
Khalifa left the porn industry in 2015, and the couple divorced in 2016 when she was 21. O’Brien has never publicly commented on his relationship with Khalifa.
Mia Khalifa’s Marriage to Robert Sandberg
Mia’s second marriage was to the talented Swedish chef Robert Sandberg. Khalifa recounted how she met her second husband to Evie Magazine in July 2020. Despite allegedly receiving DMs from multiple well-known celebrities, she made the first move.
One evening, she liked several old posts on Sandberg’s Instagram. The next day, he reached out with the sweet pickup line, “Hey, are you into food?”. According to Khalifa, Sandberg didn’t initially know about her previous involvement with adult films. The couple dated for a year and a half before tying the knot in 2019.
Eventually, Mia’s past began to affect the couple. In an August 2020 interview with A Conversation with Clips, she opened up about their struggles. Khalifa disclosed that the couple was actively working through their issues, and Sandberg struggled to reconcile her past.
After appearing on the Golden Globe-winning Ramy series, Khalifa received significant backlash for her past, including on Sandberg’s social media. Sandberg, who was not used to being in the spotlight, struggled to deal with the attention, often opting to remain silent. Khalifa felt unsupported by this, though she emphasized they were working to find a balance via couples therapy to help set boundaries and build foundations.
Unfortunately, the marriage did not last. The couple jointly announced that they are separating on X in July 2021. In the statement, amongst declarations of mutual adoration, Sandberg and Khalifa revealed, “Not one isolated incident caused our split, but rather a culmination of unresolvable, fundamental differences… this has been long overdue.”
Fans were quick to comment, with messages of support, criticism, advice, and attempted pickups. X user, @localrach, offered, “It’s courageous to take a step past together into apart, good luck and much healing,” while @dabradybunch advised, “Don’t marry a pornstar [sic] plain and simple.”
Mia Khalifa’s Relationship Status
Following her second marriage, Khalifa dated Jhay Cortez (or Jhayco) from 2021 to 2022. However, there has been recent, unconfirmed speculation they’re back together.
According to TikTok user @therealkatherine, Khalifa wished Jhayco a happy birthday via Instagram with a selection of cozy pictures together. The original post has since been deleted.
[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@therealkatherine/video/7356056598235630891?lang=en[/embed]
In her conversation on The Louis Theroux Podcast in September 2024, Khalifa updated her current status, disclosing that she is involved in something good. However, she did not reveal who this was with. She continued that she would “like to keep [it] close to my heart.”