Gad Saad is a Canadian professor known for applying evolutionary psychology to marketing and consumer behavior. Saad’s work involves investigations into the impact of hormones on purchaser choices. He teaches marketing at the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University and has held visiting professorships at the University of California, Irvine, and Cornell University.
Saad has a sizable social media following, where he uploads occasional and often cryptic posts about his wife. However, in a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Gad gave deeper insight into his relationship with his wife, showering praise on a woman he called his ‘best friend.’
Gad and his wife met at a corporate seminar he conducted over two decades ago
In December 2019, Gad wrote an article on Psychology Today titled ‘How I Met My Wife.’ Saad wrote that a man approached him at the gym and requested him to conduct corporate seminars touching on consumer psychology and the psychology of decision making at the man’s telemarketing firm.
“Luckily for me, I eventually agreed to his offer even though I was not terribly pleased with the remuneration,” Saad wrote. “Then again, some things are more important than money.”
Saad met his future wife as he stepped off the elevator for the first seminar. The woman, Saad wrote, wasn’t best pleased that she had to attend a boring corporate event on a Saturday. “I thank the cosmos that it was compulsory for her to attend,” he wrote.
When Gad fell ill with bronchitis, the woman brought him a cup of hot tea, which Saad considered ‘very considerate and sweet’ but didn’t overthink it. He continued:
“I had my professional face on! Over the next several weeks, the woman in question exhibited a lot of interest in the taught material (which I thought was great to see) but as I later found out, this was all a grand ruse. I was being pulled into her web of love.”
Saad completed the seminars and left, thinking he’d never see the ‘elevator’ lady again. However, mutual friends connected the pair, and they had their first date at a movie theater.
Gad’s wife sealed the deal by showing up with indoor picnic supplies at his workplace. He wrote:
“Several days later, she showed up to my office with a basket of goodies for an indoor picnic. I was cooked. The rest is history. Fast forward 20 years, I returned yesterday to that exact same theater to watch a movie (The Joker) with the “elevator” lady (my wife).”
Gad and his wife married in early December 1999.
Saad’s wife is female but identifies as a Korean man
In September 2020, Gad posted Twitter photos of himself and his wife on a walk. A netizen reacted to the post by calling him a homophobe. Saad quoted the reply and wrote:
“My wife is a biological female but she self-identifies as a Korean man. Hence I’m in an inter-racial same-sex marriage.”
Gad has concealed his wife’s identity by declining to share her name or post front-facing photos of her. She has a Twitter account but has set the account to private.
Regardless of Gad’s wife’s identity, it’s unlikely that the Saad household pays much attention to pronouns. In October 2021, Gad posted a thread criticizing the idea that inadvertently using the wrong pronouns to describe someone constitutes an offense. He wrote:
“My wife walked up to the server at our local cafe. The person was possibly transgender. She wanted to engage the individual but was frozen in fear that she might use a pronoun that might offend. Therein lies the problem with this language policing.”
It’s unclear how many children Gad and his wife share, but we know they have a daughter.
Jealousy has never affected Gad and his wife’s 23-year marriage
Saad’s episode on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast started with a discussion about the Depp-Heard defamation case. As the pair discussed power dynamics in relationships, the conversation gravitated towards Saad’s marriage.
The professor said that jealousy had never been an issue in his marriage. Gad said:
“I’ve been married to my wife for 23 years. I hope you’d agree she’s a beautiful woman, it’s weird she would pick this guy. That’s maybe my biggest compliment. She’s never once, that I can remember, triggered a jealousy response from me.”
Saad said that he and his wife shared a code that barred them from testing ‘each other’s love by triggering each other’s jealousy.’
Gad also shared the ‘secret’ to a happy marriage, saying he found his best friend and clung on. “I don’t have a recipe, I really just enjoy her company,” Gad said. “It sounds cliché but that’s what it is. I’d rather be with my wife than anyone else on most days. If you do find that person, hang on tight.”
Saad also dismissed the idea that opposites can have a lasting union. He stated that having shared values increases the likelihood of long-term success. Gad explained:
“For long term, you want birds of a feather flock together – shared values. If you don’t have that in common, the stats of you likely divorcing shoots through the roof.”
Saad’s wife’s innovation helped him find a wedding ring he’d lost while swimming
In August 2014, Gad Saad shared a piece on Psychology Today in which he praised his wife’s efforts in helping him find his lost ring. Soon after realizing that he’d lost his ring, Gad informed his wife, who put on her investigative hat. Gad wrote:
“This is where the story takes a truly miraculous turn: In a move befitting the top scientists on CSI, my wife downloaded all our photos and videos from the day to see if we could identify a window that might allow us to narrow down when and where the ring might have been lost.”
One video identified the exact time and location where Gad lost the ring. The couple conducted an experiment and concluded that the ring likely sank to the bottom of the riverbed. Gad wrote:
“The conclusions? One, the ring drops rather quickly to the bottom of the river notwithstanding the strong current, and, two, if it lodges itself tightly at the bottom of the river, the current is unlikely to move it from its hiding place.”
Regardless of the conclusion, finding the ring would still be challenging. Gad faced numerous obstacles, but determined to find the ring, he immersed himself in the task. Around 20 minutes into the search, ‘an ephemeral flash’ caught his eye.’ He continued:
“I dove closer to the source to investigate and there, lodged between rocks, was my ring. I grabbed it, saw that it was indeed my ring, and then pulled out of the water and let out a truly visceral primal scream.”
Saad drew five lessons from the experience: teamwork’s value in a successful marriage; the importance of having an analytical and reasoned approach to decision making; the significance of positivity and optimism; the importance of the ring to his family; the need to take off his wedding ring before swimming. He wrote:
“People’s most prized possessions carry deeply symbolic and emotional significance. My attachment to my wedding ring is a powerful symbol of the infinite love that I have for my wife and children.”