‘American Symphony’ on Netflix Documents Suleika Jaouad’s Cancer Journey: How Is Jon Batiste’s Wife Health Now? 

Ever since American Symphony landed on Netflix last month, critics and viewers alike have been swooning over the relationship between musician Jon Batiste and writer Suleika Jaouad, whose cancer journey was documented in the film.

Jaouad was first diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2011 when she was only 22 years old. Despite being told she only had a 35% chance of living, she beat the odds and went into remission.

In November 2021, the Emmy-nominated columnist learned that her cancer had returned after a decade. On the night before her second bone marrow transplant — which was filmed for the documentary — she tied the knot with Batiste in a secret ceremony.

“He said to me, ‘I just want to be very clear, I’m not proposing to you because of this diagnosis. It’s taken me a year to design your ring. So, just know this timing has nothing to do with it. But what I do want you to know is that this diagnosis doesn’t change anything. It just makes it all the clearer to me that I want to commit to this and for us to be together,'” Jaouad recalled on a September episode of Sherri, per People.

In the same interview, Batiste added that his wife was doing “so much better” since having the bone marrow transplant. In fact, she was even able to go paragliding over the Swiss mountains.

“We were able to do things this year that last year were impossible,” Batiste told Sherri Shepherd. “She has a level of appreciation for life and being in the world that is profound. Everything is going as great as it can go, and we just pray that it continues.”

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Jaouad, who began treatment on the same day her husband was nominated for 11 Grammys in 2022, continues to receive long-term maintenance chemotherapy.

“My oncologist said, ‘You have to live every day as if it’s your last.’ And as well-intentioned as that is, I’ve had to reframe that for myself, because it’s the kind of statement that can unintentionally fill you with panic and a sense of doom,” Jaouad told NPR’s Morning Edition last month. “Instead, I’ve had to shift into a mindset of living every day as if it’s my first; of waking up with a curiosity and sense of wonder that a newborn might.”

The artist’s positive outlook has been reflected on her social media, where she previously captioned a photo of herself receiving treatment, “Still winning.”

American Symphony is currently streaming on Netflix.