Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of the best-selling memoir “Eat, Pray, Love,” says she and her girlfriend have held “a simple and spontaneous ceremony of love” with friends and family.
“Over the last year, Rayya Elias and I have been through some really difficult days together — but not today. Today was precious and perfect,” Gilbert wrote in a post Tuesday on her Instagram and Facebook accounts.
“Our ceremony was nothing legally binding (no need to alert the authorities, folks!) ... just a quiet and private celebration of what we have long known to be true: We belong to each other,” she wrote.
Gilbert, 47, announced last July that she had separated from her husband of 10 years, Jose Nunes, the Brazilian importer she wrote about in her 2006 memoir. Two months later, Gilbert revealed that she was in love with Elias, a musician, fellow author, and her longtime best friend.
She said she made the discovery while dealing with Elias’ diagnosis of pancreatic and liver cancer.
“Death — or the prospect of death — has a way of clearing away everything that is not real, and in that space of stark and utter realness, I was faced with this truth: I do not merely love Rayya; I am in love with Rayya,” Gilbert wrote at the time.
On Tuesday, Gilbert noted her partner’s health and the ongoing battle she faced.
“More difficult days are to come. It doesn't get easier from here. Her illness is grave. But our love is strong,” she wrote. “We will walk together as far as we can go together. After that, it all gets turned over to God.”