South Sudanese supermodel Aweng Ade-Chuol has opened up about the horrific homophobic abuse she suffered after getting married last year in a recent interview with Elle UK. 

Ade-Chuol and wife Alexus shared a kiss for a beautiful cover of Elle UK’s January 2021 issue. After living through vile homophobic comments following their marriage, the couple’s intimate moment expresses a defiant stance against hate. 

https://twitter.com/AwengChuol/status/1333613647382392832

Speaking with Elle UK, Ade-Chuol shared, “We got married and the whole world, literally the whole of my community, were wishing that I passed, in a way… A few months later, I attempt [suicide]. It was really absurd because subconsciously I felt I was maybe drained by the fact we’d got married.” 

“It’s still a discussion now, like, ‘How dare she marry a woman?’ You can’t control what people say, and there were tabloids and newspapers back in Sudan… It was a whole thing. For me, it was like, with the political climate that’s going on, you really think that my marriage is the most significant thing in your life right now? It was saddening, because it was the happiest day of my life, and they couldn’t let me enjoy it,” Ade-Chuol further stated. 

In 2020, Ade-Chuol opened up about how the barrage of homophobia negatively impacted her mental health. At the time, she wrote, “Completely torn. I cannot get up today. I will check in next week. This world continues to fail every version of my existence. Rest in strength. You screamed for help & the world watched.”

On her social media accounts, Ade-Chuol also spoke about her suicide attempt and how she’s currently in a better place emotionally. She told Elle UK, “I guess I didn’t experience the other side of it until this year when lockdown impacted my life directly, actually [put my] life at risk. When that happened, it was a reality check. Before, it was like, mental health is important, but now, it is the most important thing. Where you’re at mentally is the most important foundation.”

While Aweng Ade-Chuol has been open about her mental health online, she only recently came out publicly as a lesbian. Speaking about the reaction, she said, “It was beautiful to see how people react with having someone validate who they are.”

The supermodel added, “I wish I could say, “Let me hold the torch for the LGBTQIA+ Sudanese community,” but it’s a lot for one person to handle. I’m human at the end of the day, I’m very human, I’m learning myself.”