Karlie Kloss has opened up about converting to Judaism to marry her husband, Joshua Kushner, explaining it took years of ‘soul searching’ to come to the decision.
The 26-year-old model wed the 34-year-old venture capitalist in an intimate ceremony in upstate New York in October before throwing a second ranch-themed wedding last week. Speaking with British Vogue, the cover star said it took strength for her change her religion to marry the love of her life.
‘Changing part of who you are for someone else can be seen as weak,’ she said. ‘But you know what? Actually, if you’ve been through what I’ve experienced, it requires you to be anything but weak. It requires me to be stronger and self-loving and resilient. I really did not take this lightly.’
Supermodel: Karlie Kloss has covered the August issue of British Vogue, and inside the magazine she opened up about her decision to convert to Judaism to marry her husband
Love: Karlie and Joshua Kushner, 34, said ‘I do’ in an intimate ceremony in upstate New York in October after she converted to Judaism, a decision she said she didn’t take ‘lightly’
Karlie explained that her decision to convert was one that she took seriously, stressing that it was based on more than just her feelings for Josh.
‘It wasn’t enough to just love Josh and make this decision for him,’ she said. ‘This is my life and I am an independent, strong woman.
‘It was only after many years of studying and talking with my family and friends and soul searching that I made the decision to fully embrace Judaism in my life and start planning for a future with the man I chose to marry.’
Karlie also shared that she keeps Shabbat and has fully embraced the tradition of disconnecting from the digital world from sunset each Friday until nightfall on Saturday.
‘I think we all have a tendency to just keep going,’ she said. ‘Some people find grounding through meditation. Some find it through exercise. And to each their own, but for me, Shabbat has brought so much meaning into my life. It helps me reconnect to the actual world.’
Struggle: ‘It wasn’t enough to just love Josh and make this decision for him,’ she said, noting it took years of ‘soul searching’ to decide. The two had a second wedding in Wyoming last week
Devoted wife: The model said changing part of who she is for someone else required her ‘to be stronger and self-loving and resilient’
Look of love: The couple attended the Met Gala together in May, a little less than two months before their second ranch-themed wedding
Karlie and Joshua dated for six years before they got engaged in July 2018. It was rumored that she had converted to Judaism ahead of their nuptials in October, but she didn’t publicly confirm the reports until her appearance on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live in March.
When host Andy Cohen read a viewer’s question asking if she converted to Judaism before her big day, she raised her glass in a toast, saying: ‘I joined the tribe, mazel.’
Around the time of her appearance on the late night show, author Vicky Ward published her expose ‘Kushner, Inc.: Greed. Ambition. Corruption. The Extraordinary Story of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump,’ in which she touched upon the Kushner family’s relationship with Karlie.
According to the book, Josh’s parents, Charles and Seryl Kushner, refused to meet Karlie for six years and ‘spoke horribly’ about her behind her back. The expose claims they banned Karlie from family gatherings because they hated her so much.
The billionaire family despised the fact that Karlie was not Jewish and thought that a Victoria’s Secret model was beneath them. Family friends mocked Karlie, calling her the ‘the lingerie model,’ and they feared that Josh had ‘doomed’ the entire bloodline.
Confirmation: After months of speculation that she converted to Judaism, Karlie confirmed the reports on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live in March, saying: ‘I joined the tribe, mazel’
Drama: Josh’s parents, Charles and Seryl Kushner, reportedly refused to meet Karlie for six years because they hated her so much. They’re pictured with their eldest son, Jared, in 2007
Discord? Jared allegedly dismissed Karlie as a ‘shiksa,’ a disparaging term for a non-Jewish woman. He and his wife, Ivanka Trump, (far left) attended the U.S. Open with Karlie in 2016
Josh’s brother Jared, 38, also disapproved of Karlie, dismissing her as a ‘shiksa,’ a disparaging and offensive term for a non-Jewish woman, despite the fact that his wife Ivanka Trump had converted to Judaism for him.
When Josh protested that Jared had done exactly the same thing with Ivanka, his family disagreed.
‘Ivanka, they explained, was different. She was a Trump. She was also, like Jared, real estate royalty. And she’d attended an Ivy League school, the University of Pennsylvania,’ Vicky wrote in the book.
‘Kloss grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St Louis, and hadn’t even been to college when she and Josh began dating.’
Despite the alleged discord, Josh’s parents reportedly attended the couple’s wedding in October along with their children, including Jared and his wife Ivanka.
The Kushner family’s reported treatment of Karlie isn’t the only point of tension for the family. Both Jared and Ivanka are senior advisers to her father, President Donald Trump, while Joshua and Karlie are proud liberals.
New traditions: Karlie also shared that she keeps Shabbat, saying it has ‘brought so much meaning’ into her life
Focus: When asked about the public scrutiny surrounding her marriage and her ties to the first family, Karlie admitted it has been ‘hard’ but said she chooses to focus on their ‘liberal values’
Joshua’s rep once described him as a ‘lifelong Democrat,’ and Karlie publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
When asked about the public scrutiny surrounding her marriage and her ties to the controversial first family, Karlie admitted it has been difficult.
‘It’s been hard,’ she told British Vogue. ‘But I choose to focus on the values that I share with my husband, and those are the same liberal values that I was raised with and that have guided me throughout my life.’
Karlie also spoke about her decision to end her contract with Victoria’s Secret in 2015 after four years working with the lingerie brand.
The decision came right around the time she started studying feminist theory at New York University’s Gallatin School, three years into her relationship with Joshua.
‘The reason I decided to stop working with Victoria’s Secret was I didn’t feel it was an image that was truly reflective of who I am and the kind of message I want to send to young women around the world about what it means to be beautiful,’ she said.
‘I think that was a pivotal moment in me stepping into my power as a feminist, being able to make my own choices and my own narrative, whether through the companies I choose to work with, or through the image I put out to the world.’