Ryan Serhant is an American reality television personality and real estate broker famous for starring in Million Dollar Listings: New York. Serhant had a burgeoning career as a hand model before a friend suggested that he venture into real estate. He joined the industry shortly after the subprime mortgage industry collapsed in 2008.
Serhant advertised himself as the number one broker in New York. In his first year, he made a measly $9,000, but it wouldn’t be long before he made his first major sale worth $8.5 million. Ryan’s wife, Emilia Bechrakis, is a regular on Serhant’s reality shows. Join us as we explore the couple’s relationship and struggle to get pregnant, and Emilia’s career and charitable initiatives.
Emilia initially thought that Ryan was gay or married when the pair first met
Emilia and Ryan met at a menorah lighting in New York. Ryan’s charm, confidence, and good looks impressed Emilia so much that she couldn’t believe that he was single. “He’s hot, single, oh he must either be gay or married, taken, I dunno what it was – so I didn’t take him seriously,” Emilia said.
Ryan was equally impressed, and despite Emilia’s apparent disinterest, he patiently coaxed her into a relationship. Convinced that Emilia was the love of his life, Ryan set up a proposal fit for a queen. With the help of the Mayor and 50 police officers, Serhant sealed off Times Square for an hour to propose to Emilia.
“I am overwhelmed with emotions that are indescribable,” Emilia captioned an Instagram post of the proposal. “Although I was never a girl to dream of proposals and wedding dresses, this one fits perfectly in a fairy tale… he surprised me, gave me laughter and made my cry uncontrollably.”
Ryan and Emilia got married on 7th July 2016 in a ceremony held in Corfu, Greece. The wedding, along with the proposal, featured on Million Dollar Listings: New York. The couple hired celebrity wedding planner Kevin Lee to arrange the ceremony. It cost the couple $1 million to cover the expenses, including roses imported from the Netherlands, fireworks, and an after-party.
The couple chose Greece to honor Emilia, who is Greek-American. After Ryan converted to Greek Orthodox, the couple wed at a Byzantine Church previously used by royal families for marriage ceremonies.
Bechrakis and Ryan post regular tributes to each other via Instagram. On Father’s Day 2021, Emilia dedicated the following message to Ryan: “Watching you grow as a father has been one of the greatest joys of our decade-long relationship. Seeing how you are with Zena and knowing how you’ll be, makes me love you infinitely more every day.”
Emilia published a book detailing her pregnancy struggles and IVF treatments
Emilia and Ryan waited until Zena’s birth on 26th February 2019 to detail their pregnancy struggles. Per an early March 2019 Instagram post by Ryan, the couple spent three years trying to have a successful pregnancy. “The fact that we were pregnant – as beautiful as it was – was almost too good to be true,” Ryan wrote.
On 5th March 2019, Emilia posted a beautiful black and white photo displaying her baby bump. “I felt such a need to be private about my pregnancy on social media because we had so many ups and downs,” she shared. “I found the anxiety overwhelming.” Emilia revealed that she was happy to have delivered a healthy baby but was missing ‘having my baby safe in my belly.’
In late February 2021, Emilia posted throwback photos of herself moments before her delivery. She explained that Zena was ten days late, and she had to have labor induced. Ryan was beside her through a night of excruciating contractions, but he somehow managed to doze off. “Apparently Ryan had never slept harder his whole life,” she wrote.
Despite Ryan’s slumber at the final moments, he’d done more than enough to support his wife through the pregnancy. “To my Puff monkey,” Emilia began a March 2019 Instagram post before adding:
“Thank you for coming to every dr’s appointment this past year. For giving me shots every night for weeks upon weeks. For crying with me, for snuggling me, for reassuring me, for giving me courage. Thank you for telling me I’m beautiful every day even when it was questionable.”
Emilia decided to share her pregnancy journey via a book titled, To the Moon and Back for You. “This book is for families in the IVF community and any woman who feels like a mother even before holding her child for the first time,” Bechrakis told People. “It’s for mothers who have longed for a baby, who have suffered loss or who have struggled in one way or another to have a child of their own.”
Emily worked for many years as a maritime lawyer and currently works in insurance
Emilia Bechrakis was born on 3rd July 1985 in New York. She spent some of her younger days in the United States but mostly grew up in a Greek town called Mani. “Mani was the one village in all of Greece that has never been taken over by anybody else because they’re known for being insane and having tempers that are crazy,” Ryan told Bravo. “That’s what I’m marrying into.”
At age 18, Emilia moved to London, where she earned three law degrees, including a Master of Laws degree in Maritime Law. Emilia made a name for herself as a Maritime lawyer in Europe but gave up the career to stay in New York with Ryan.
In 2015, Emilia joined the Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company as a senior sales representative. Five years later, she accepted the Vice President of Business Development position at Kensington Vanguard National Land Services.
“I made the move the KV at this point in my career because I was looking for an exciting new opportunity where I’d be able to expand my business and provide my clients with the best possible customer experience,” Bechrakis said in a press release about her hiring. In an interview with BravoTv, Emilia joked that most people don’t understand what her job entails:
“I stopped practicing maritime law a few years ago, and I got into the title insurance business, which not a lot of people know about. One day, I feel like I need to do a little video to explain what title insurance is, but it’s real estate-related.”
Bechrakis still has a valid legal practicing certificate, which she utilizes by providing pro bono services.
Emilia is heavily involved in local and international charitable causes
In April 2018, Ryan and Emilia took a trip to Africa where they sponsored the notching and microchipping of a rhino. Bechrakis wrote on Instagram that she’d been humbled by the efforts of park rangers and caregivers who’ve dedicated their lives to protecting rhino populations.
“Microchips, notching are vital steps in securing the rhinos and deterring poaching,” Emilia wrote. “We named her Elpida, Greek for ‘Hope.’ More to come on how you can help us join anti-poaching efforts.”
After the coronavirus pandemic hit, Emilia stepped up her efforts to raise funds for City Harvest via the Share Lunch Fight Hunger campaign, which she co-chairs. Via an 11th June 2021 Instagram post, she expressed her desire to end child hunger in New York and around the world:
“While I would love with all my heart to solve world hunger, I have to start locally. Right here, with our NY communities. As a mother, it is painful and unthinkable that in 2021 we still have children around us who do not know where their next meal will come from.”
Via the same post, she thanked everybody who’d donated and encouraged people to keep donating. “With 1 in 3 NYC kids experiencing food insecurity right now, I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who came together in support of this campaign.”