Weird Things We Can't Ignore About Mark Zuckerberg's Marriage

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan met at Harvard. Zuckerberg went on to start Facebook, and Chan graduated medical school and became a pediatrician. After nearly 10 years of dating, they got married in a surprise outdoor ceremony in 2012. At the time of writing, they have since welcomed three daughters and started a philanthropic organization together. While the longtime couple has stuck together through thick and thin, their love story can be a little bit out there sometimes. 

From being accused of colonizing an island to finding love at full bladders, Zuckerberg and Chan's relationship timeline is littered with strange details. For starters, there's the family dog, Beast. "The dog is [Mark's] second priority after Facebook," Chan jokingly told Today in 2014. She revealed that her husband spent at least 30 minutes every day talking to Beast. "He's so smart. We've been told that he's quite gifted."

While the couple's love for Beast is evident, they seem to have gone through a spiritual awakening journey with their first kid, Maxima. "For a few months during the pregnancy we just had a lot of time to think about the world that she was going to grow up in and there are all these dreams that we had long-term," Mark told People en Español. However, her birth was accompanied by, of all things, business plans in the delivery room. Read on to learn even more about some of the weird aspects of Mark Zuckerberg's marriage that we just can't ignore. 

On May 18, 2012, Facebook went live, making history on Wall Street. One day later, Mark Zuckerberg announced on Facebook that he and his long-time girlfriend Priscilla Chan were officially married. Many couldn't help but notice the timing of their marriage. From a family law perspective, this move would make Zuckerberg's massive Facebook stock his own separate property if they ever got a divorce (depending on the details in their prenup, if they have one) and Priscilla would have to fight to get her share of Facebook.

However, conspiracy theories aside, Zuckerberg maintains that the collision of dates was, in fact, a total coincidence. As her detailed in an anniversary Facebook post in 2017, the couple had the date marked a long time ago, and the IPO just happened to be one day earlier. "One side effect of having a surprise wedding is that Facebook's CFO who was managing our IPO process had no idea we were getting married," he wrote in the post. "When I originally set the date for our surprise, we had no idea when the IPO would be."

Zuckerberg further explained that her tried to move things around initially, but the IPO wouldn't have been ready a few days earlier. For the newlyweds, this also meant that Zuckerberg had to cut their honeymoon short to be with his team. "I wanted to be with our team when things got rocky... Instead, I promised Priscilla that every year we'd have a honeymoon to celebrate our marriage." 

From his dorm-room hoodie style to his business-first suit and tie phase, the CEO of Meta has gone through quite a style transformation. At 40, Mark Zuckerberg went through a complete fashion makeover again as he adapted a new look with baggy tees, gold chains, and Gen-Z curls. It seems that the billionaire finally caught up with some more updated trends. In the span of a few months, he also managed to adopt a new identity as a fashion designer. "I've kind of started working on this series of shirts with some of my favorite classical sayings on them," he told the Acquired podcast in 2024. He has partnered with fashion designer Mike Amiri to create his own line of tees while running Meta, developing AI-related products, and raising three children with Priscilla Chan. 

Meanwhile, Meta has faced multiple controversies. In addition to boldly championing the new age of AI technology, Zuckerberg planned 5% of the global workforce as of January 2025.In 2021, both Instagram and Facebook were linked to worsening mental health issues and fueling hate speech. Despite the apps being problematic, Chan tried to clean up Zuckerberg's image by showing that he was just a regular guy and a loving husband (via The Times). Zuckerberg's drastic midlife makeover seems to derive from the same strand — it makes him seem more approachable and human. As of the time of writing, Chan hasn't spoken about her opinion on her husband's makeover, but she's likely on board with the decision.

In 2023, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk had a strange feud over the launch of Threads, an X, formerly Twitter, rival. In June 2023, Musk took to X to voice his disapproval: "I'm sure Earth can't wait to be exclusively under Zuck's thumb with no other options." One user joked in the comment about Zuckerberg's jiu jitsu training, to which Musk replied, "I'm up for a cage match if he is." This triggered a series of back-and-forth social media interactions between the two billionaire tech CEOs, who agreed to face each other in a cage match.

To prepare for the fight, Zuckerberg put an eight-sided MMA fighting cage in his backyard, and Priscilla Chan was not so happy about it. He posted his wife's response as a screenshot in an Instagram story (via The Independent). "Did you see the octagon I put in the backyard?" Zuckerberg wrote. Chan replied, "Yes, I saw it." He further wrote that it looked awesome. However, Chan didn't sound too thrilled. "Mark," she wrote. "I have been working on that grass for two years." The couple couldn't agree on the fighting ring. As a result, Zuckerberg asked his followers in a poll to choose between "save the grass" and "keep the octagon." It's unclear whether the couple decided to keep the octagon, but after the news went public, Musk reacted by promising his followers that the fight would be live-streamed (via X).

In real life, the big romantic gestures from a billionaire rarely pan out the same way they do in romance novels, and Mark Zuckerberg commissioning a giant statue of his wife is proof. In August 2024, the billionaire unveiled his seven-foot tall gesture of love for Priscilla Chan on Instagram, sharing a shot of his wife sipping coffee and standing underneath a statue that looks identical to her. "Bringing back the Roman tradition of making sculptures of your wife," he captioned the post and tagged visual artist Daniel Arsham, who is known for his work in sculpture, architecture, and other mediums. Chan wrote in the comments, "The more of me the better?" with a heart emoji, seemingly enamored of the gesture like their fans.

Those in the art world have mixed feelings about the statue. Some pointed out how Zuckerberg could've hired a local artist to support the art community. Others saw the statue as a reflection of the tech billionaire's taste and psych. "It seems to me that Zuckerberg just wants to create a space of total unreality," said Max Blue, an art critic at the San Francisco Examiner (via San Francisco Standard). "Does it reveal anything about Chan's role, her personality, her heroism? I'm guessing it's more of a private thing between husband and wife..." said Glen Helfand, chair of the Curatorial Practice Program at California College of the Arts.

According to The Knot, an average wedding in 2012 cost around $28,000. Those in Northern California would spend more than $32,000. However, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan were nowhere near these numbers when they had their secret wedding in 2012 after having been dating for almost a decade. Around the time, Zuckerberg's net worth was more than $19 billion, but he spent less than half what average couples spent on weddings. Instead of renting an expensive venue, they hosted the wedding in-house at their Palo Alto estate. For the feast, they ordered Fuki Sushi and Mexican food from Palo Alto Sol, and had Burdick Chocolate mice for dessert. 

Priscilla Chan wore a $4,700 wedding gown from a Los Angeles-based designer named Claire Pettibone, and for music, Green Day's lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong reportedly took the job to entertain the guests as a gift for the couple given that he and Zuckerberg were friends. Despite not spending a ton of money on their wedding, the day turned out to be extra special. "Priscilla and I wanted a low key wedding so we decided to make it a surprise and have it in our backyard," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post in 2017. To make sure no one would leak the news, they sent an email to inform guests that he was throwing a party to celebrate Priscilla for from graduating medical school. "When they showed up at our home, I told them we were getting married. It was a great day."

It's not a secret that Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard. While he didn't leave with a fancy degree from one of the world's top universities like many others, he did gain something wonderful from his time at the school. "My best memory from Harvard was meeting Priscilla," the founder of Facebook said while talking to the 2017 graduation class (via The Harvard Gazette). He recalled launching the prank website Facemash and being called to the ad board. Thinking he was going to get kicked out, Zuckerberg started packing for a trip home. 

His friends threw him a farewell party, during which he met the love of his life. However, as romantic as it sounded, their love at first sight also included two full bladders. "We met in line for the bathroom in the Pfoho Belltower," Zuckerberg said. "[A]nd In what must be one of the all-time romantic lines, I said: 'I'm going to get kicked out in three days, so we need to go on a date quickly.'"

The founder of Facebook also urged the graduating class to use his pickup line for good luck. While Facemash wasn't integral in creating Facebook, Zuckerberg regarded the creation as one of the most important things he did at Harvard. "Without Facemash, I wouldn't have met Priscilla, and she's the most important person in my life, so you could say it was the most important thing I built in my time here."

Although Mark Zuckerberg successfully got himself a date with a pickup line outside the bathroom, the relationship was fragile at first, and it almost didn't go past a second date. The truth about Priscilla Chan is that she sensed some major warning signs coming from Zuckerberg that had her worried about his future. While talking to CBS Mornings, Chan recalled their first date. "There was a major red flag," she said. ""I'm a type-A student. At the end of the date, he said, 'I have a take-home midterm I need to do but I'd rather hang out with you.'" While Zuckerberg meant it as a compliment, it triggered an alarm in Chan. "I was like, 'this guy is going nowhere, he's blowing off his homework,'" Chan said. 

It may sound strange that the future wife of a tech billionaire initially suspected him of being a loser when they first met. At the time, they were both students at Harvard, and Zuckerberg was on the verge of being kicked out of his program. Given the situation, Chan had a point. Interestingly, she also had no clue that Zuckerberg would one day be so successful as to run a multi-billion dollar company. "No one in their wildest dreams would imagine that this is what would happen." She revealed that Facebook was just her husband's next project at the time, which turned out to have changed their lives in ways they couldn't have imagined.

Most couples would probably call for a divorce if one of them were to talk business in the delivery room, but this is certainly not the case with Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg. They were talking business until the last minute right before the couple welcomed their first child, Max in 2015. "I was in the hospital, in active labor, and Mark has a copy of the letter he wanted me to look at," Chan recalled in 2018 during a speech (via Medium). They were planning on launching the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative during that time, a philanthropic venture that was created while Chan was pregnant with Max. On the day Max was born, their new initiative was born as well. As Chan explained: "[Mark said] 'Does this make sense? Should I move this paragraph up?' and I said, 'Honey, we're done. The baby is here. The letter is complete.'" 

Needless to say, the couple also announced the arrival of their child in conjunction with the launch of NZI. In the letter addressed to their daughter Max, the couple wrote: "As you begin the next generation of the Chan Zuckerberg family, we also begin the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to join people across the world to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation." They promised to dedicate 99% of their Facebook share to the cause with the intention of bringing positive changes in the world.

Relationship contracts are rare, but they certainly do exist, and Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan reportedly had one when they were dating. These contracts can be thought of as precursors to traditional prenups, which establish certain rules in a marriage. After Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard, he moved to Silicon Valley to develop Facebook. Chan then followed him to California, but not without negotiating a few terms for herself. In fact, according to Sarah Lacy's 2008 book "Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good" about Zuckerberg, the couple had a series of negotiations before Chan agreed to move. 

One rule specified that they would have a minimum of one date night and 100 minutes spent every week not in his apartment or at Facebook. While many may find it odd to establish specific and strict rules in a relationship, marriage and family therapist Kelly M. Roberts explained to the New York Times that a relationship agreement had certain benefits. "Each party has a chance to draw a line in the sand or negotiate," Roberts said. "It's not based on economic earnings but on relationship capital." After all, a cross-country move is a big deal, and it was something Chan had to do for the sake of their relationship. Zuckerberg also agreed on drawing clear lines between work and personal time. "When you're doing a partnership like this, it's important to set aside time for your personal partnership," he told Quartz.

Hawaii may be a part-time paradise for Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, but the same could not be said for the local residents since their arrival. The couple started acquiring lands on Kauai in 2014, and in 2016, one of Zuckerberg's shell companies filed a lawsuit against local landowners to pressure them into selling. When this went public in 2017, Zuckerberg faced intense backlash for trying to colonize the island. While he has since promised to work with the locals, it didn't stop his pursuits. In 2020, a Change.org campaign launched by a native Hawaiian to stop Zuckerberg from "colonizing" Kauai received more than a million signatures. 

The couple has since become more involved with the local community by making political connections and supporting nonprofit organizations, but even their philanthropic approach couldn't ease the social and economic impact they brought to Hawaii's oldest and smallest island. Kauai went from local residents' homes to desirable land for wealthy mainlanders, and the changes are forcing locals to leave. "The people who are born and raised here can't afford to live here," a local resident told Wired. "And we have this whole new economy that is basically serving at the rich peoples' whims. I don't know how stable those kinds of jobs are." At the time of writing, Zuckerberg and Chan are reportedly building a $270 million Hawaiian compound, which includes an underground bunker. According to Wired, workers have been subjected to strict NDAs that prevent them from sharing details about the construction project.