Jelena Bin Drai revealed the details of her marriage to an Arab millionaire

Now she lives in luxury and glamour, while her earlier life was nowhere near that. She was born in Žabalj, near Novi Sad. She gained her popularity in 1998, when she was declared Miss Yugoslavia, Miss Photogenicity and Miss Internet. She managed to win as many as three titles out of a possible five, at one beauty pageant.

Jelena does not hide that her family was very poor, and that only her father accompanied and supported her, because they did not have enough money to provide tickets for her mother and brother.

– I remember it like it was yesterday. Only my father was there when I was on stage. My mom and brother had to stay in the lobby of the hotel, in front of the hall door. At that moment, we only had 100 German marks in our account, which was enough for just one ticket – Jelena revealed.

I was determined to win, but when they announced me as Miss Internet and Miss Photogenic, I thought that was it, I lost all hope, it never occurred to me that I could be the first Miss in the history of our country to win those three titles in one competition. I didn’t cry then because I managed to achieve it, I cried because I saw my mother and brother from the stage trying to peek through the door of the hall to see at least my coronation. It broke my heart – she explained.

Soon, many doors began to open for her, and she received many engagements. Because of her work, she lived in Italy for a while, after which she moved to Dubai. In Dubai, her life began to change and take on a fairy-tale shape. There she met and got to know her husband, Sheikh Said Bin Drai. At that moment, Jelena was declared the most beautiful young lady, but despite this fact, the sheikh did not pay attention to her. At first glance, he didn’t like her.

– During the first meeting, he did not pay attention to me at all. At that time, I weighed only forty-eight kilograms and, therefore, seemed drunk. Like every Arab, he likes “racial” women, with pronounced curves. I only intrigued him when we started communicating – Jelena said in an interview a few years ago.

She revealed that Said and his family were not of conservative views, and that they immediately accepted her without any prejudices. The religious difference was also no problem for him and his family.

– Said is from a mixed marriage. The day his father married an Englishwoman, he broke the rules, but it greatly simplified our situation many years later. His family accepted me very well. They treat me as if I am one of them, not distinguishing between my faith and theirs. Although it is not customary among Arabs for a young man and a young woman to live together, Said and I did not hesitate to do so. We started our life together after only two weeks of dating – said Jelena.

The crown of their great love is their children. The couple has a daughter Asiya and sons Hilal, Hamdan and Rashid.

Jelena also revealed that in their house, all religious holidays are equally respected, both his and hers.

– Always festive, like slava and Christmas or any Islamic holiday. In our house, everything is celebrated and respected according to the customs that dictate. Eggs are painted, homemade Serbian food is prepared, children hit each other with eggs. We transferred the entire tradition from Serbia here – she once said.

Their wedding had a special symbolism. Namely, everything was in the sign of the number 4.

– We got married on April 4, at four in the afternoon. We dated for four years, Said’s jersey number when he plays polo is 4, and we want four children – Jelena pointed out at the time.

Jelena has everything that almost every woman would want, but she is not someone who lives at the expense of her husband, but also has numerous business successes.

– Perfect organization is the key to my success. In the beginning it was different, I had one child and one job, later two small children, one baby and six companies. I have no choice but to be perfectly organized. Three days I am dedicated exclusively to work, while the rest of the week is reserved only for family. Then ‘the managers come on stage’, and I spend time with Said and the children, on the beach, on the boat or at the family estate. Fortunately, I have a great team in which I have absolute confidence – she said, adding:

– I have always been a workaholic and the option of being just a housewife never existed in my head. I often work past midnight. No one is surprised anymore when they receive an email from me at two in the morning – she explained.

Because of her marriage to a sheikh, she constantly faces negative comments from people. Many people said that she lives in Bin Drai’s harem, and that she is not his only wife.

– Of course I live in a harem. I am vampirized by Hurem. My husband is the Sultan the Magnificent, you already know that, and luckily he has 147 other wives, so during this pandemic I don’t have to suffer and see him every day – she joked.

With this, Jelena wanted to let everyone know that she lives a completely normal family life and that there is no room for sensations and gossip.

VIDEO: Jelena bin Drai dances to Bayaga