Who is Jacquelyn Smith? Fortune Feimster breaks silence on divorce from wife

Fortune Feimster, 44, recently addressed her divorce from wife Jacquelyn Smith, marking the end of their nearly decade-long relationship.

In 2015, the renowned comedian met Smith at a Chicago Pride event, as confirmed by People. Soon, they began dating in 2016, and got engaged in 2018. In October 2020, the couple tied the knot in an intimate ceremony.

Originally from Michigan, Jacquelyn Smith, also called Jax, is a professional American educator and producer.

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Fortune Feimster and Jacquelyn Smith announced their divorce on social media

On June 2, Fortune Feimster and Jacquelyn Smith shared a joint statement on the former's Instagram handle, stating,

"Together, we have made the difficult decision to end our marriage. We’ve been separated for a little bit, both of us dealing with tough health situations in our families, so it wasn’t something we were ready to talk about."

Their statement further added:

"While we are sad to see this chapter of our lives come to a close, we wish each other nothing but the best as we move forward. We’ve had 10 years together, and there’s so much to celebrate about that and so much we will look back on fondly. Out of respect to each other and our families, we ask for privacy as we navigate this challenging time in both of our lives."

Fortune shared the important message in an Instagram post, with the caption,

"From Jax and me"

Everything we know about Jacquelyn Smith

Smith hails from Michigan

Fortune Feimster and Jacquelyn Smith's love story blossomed in Chicago, where they met each other for the first time. Smith and her family, however, are from Michigan, according to a People report. Hence, her family could not attend her wedding celebrations. Neither could Fortune's family, hailing from North Carolina.

In a conversation with People, the comedian opened up about her wedding amid the COVID-19 pandemic, sharing,

"Literally like, five minutes before the ceremony, I'm emailing Zoom links to people. But that ended up being really great because her family was there and my family was there. It was most important for our parents to see it."

What does Smith do?

Jacquelyn Smith began her career as a kindergarten teacher. Later, she transitioned her professional trajectory into the entertainment industry.

According to a Tuko report, Jacquelyn Smith has been working with her former partner, Fortune, as her executive producer. She worked on several of Feimster's comedy specials, such as Sincerely Fortune (2019), Fortune Feimster: Sweet & Salty (2020), and Fortune Feimster: Good Fortune (2022).

While speaking with People, Feimster reflected on Smith's contributions to her career. She said:

"She [Jacquelyn] does not want to be in the spotlight. She's the brains helping me. We're teammates. It's a good balance. I don't have a problem seeing her shine and getting all the attention. I love that for her. But I don't want any of that! I never want to get on a stage."

The estranged couple also talked about jokes. Remembering the experience of collaborating with her ex-wife professionally, Smith noted,

"Since I tour with her a lot, we talk about the jokes because I hear them so often. I'm not the funniest, but I'll be like, 'Hey, I think there's something there. Maybe you could find a funnier bit in that.' I am always so proud of her and love seeing her bring joy to a theater full of people."

The duo got a dog, too

Fortune Feimster and Jacquelyn Smith share a pet pomeranian, Biggie. The dog was their wedding ceremony ring bearer.

Recalling the special moment from their wedding, the Crushing It star elaborated,

"They put [Biggie] down to come walk towards us and he gets right towards the edge and he does a big shake. And we were like, 'Please still have our rings.' We just envisioned our rings flying off of his tuxedo and into the ocean, but luckily they stayed."

A look at their relationship

Fortune Feimster met Jacquelyn Smith in June 2015 at a Pride event. They came across each other the next day after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. Since the beginning, the pair kept their relationship private, away from the continuous spotlight. At times, they shared glimpses on social media and gave sneak peeks into their love lives.

In October 2022, they discussed their relationship with People. Calling it "love at first sight," Fortune described,

"We happened to meet in a parking lot, because Pride commandeers different parks and areas. I'd only been there 10 minutes when we met, and we kept running into each other all night."

Jacquelyn Smith later chimed in,

"Right away, we just had an ease with each other."

Initially, they had to keep their relationship long-distance as Smith was in Chicago and Feimster was in California. Around a year later, they moved in together.

Recalling those days, Fortune said:

"It was a huge act that said, 'I want this to work. I believe in us.'"

In January 2018, they celebrated their engagement in Big Sur, California. Over two years later, they exchanged vows in a quiet wedding affair in October 2020.

Fortune Feimster and Jacquelyn Smith planned to tie the knot in 2020. Given the uncertainties about the COVID-19 pandemic circumstances, and the state of marriage equality in their country, they celebrated their special day in an intimate ceremony.

Jacquelyn explained:

"We just decided because we don't know when this is going to be over and it's just too hard to plan anything. We just did something quick and small with our friends."

She also remarked,

“I think I had posted something on Instagram, something like, 'Oh man, this is nerve-racking as a gay person.' All these people were like, 'Go get married now.' Hopefully, marriage equality is here to stay. But we wanted to be more proactive and get married while we know we can."

The couple kept their wedding low-key and celebrated their memorable day at their rented home in Malibu, California, on October 23, 2020.

Discussing inviting their friends for the ceremony, Fortune added,

"We just asked a couple of our close friends we knew had been taking the quarantine and pandemic seriously."

They gave just "a week's notice" to their friends, asking,

"Would you guys be willing to take COVID tests and keep hunkering down leading up to the day?"

Their loved ones agreed, underwent COVID tests, and joined them to celebrate Smith and Fortune's marriage.

The sudden outbreak of coronavirus changed Feimster and Smith's wedding plans. Renowned actress Mindy Kaling was likely to officiate their wedding. The actress and the comedian worked together on The Mindy Project

Mindy commented on the couple's engagement announcement post on Instagram,

"This is exciting!! Yes I will officiate."

The Mindy Project co-star, Fortune, responded,

"YES PLEASE!!!!"

The comedian looked back on why Mindy could not officiate their wedding during a conversation on Watch What Happens Live in February 2021.

Fortune revealed:

"We would have totally had Mindy marry us, that would have been our choice, but we didn't really want to ask someone to do that during a pandemic."

She later noted,

"We thought that was kind of getting them out of their pod."

Instead of Kailing, Smith and Feimster decided to choose a "same-day marriage person, someone [they] didn't even know" for their marriage. The comedian concluded, wishing,

"Hopefully, Mindy's not mad."

In an October 2022 interview with People, she detailed her relationship, saying,

"I want people to know me and Jax are like everybody else. We happen to be gay but our story is not much different from other people's. I want the special to be something everyone can relate to. You don't have to be gay to relate to an engagement story."