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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Nicole Shanahan and Jacob Strumwasser held a small commitment ceremony in Southern California on May 5, 2023, according to a July 2023 PEOPLE exclusive. Shanahan described a gathering with friends that included a water blessing at a beach meaningful to them. The account describes a personal commitment ceremony; it does not establish that the couple entered a legal marriage.
What happened at the ceremony
Shanahan told PEOPLE that she and Strumwasser collected water from a beach they both loved and brought it to her Southern California property. A handful of friends joined them for a water blessing, which Shanahan said a friend led. She characterized the gathering as spontaneous: “It was spontaneous with a few friends.”
The beach was part of the couple’s shared story. Shanahan said they had surfed there separately before they met, and later surfed together after their relationship began.
Why Shanahan described it as a love ceremony
Shanahan said she had long wanted a handfasting-inspired ceremony. In her view, that kind of ritual expressed the spirit of marriage more than legal documentation did. She described the event as a love commitment, but that explanation is her personal view of its meaning—not evidence of the couple’s legal marital status.
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How Shanahan said they met
According to Shanahan, a friend introduced them at Burning Man. They talked over coffee, and she said their relationship began with a close friendship: “Our relationship started as a deep friendship.”
What the 2023 account does—and does not—establish
The PEOPLE feature is a personal account based on Shanahan’s interview. It reports the date, setting and elements of the ceremony as she described them. It does not establish that the ceremony was a legal wedding or provide an independent confirmation of the couple’s legal status.
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The feature also included background on disputed allegations involving Shanahan and Elon Musk. Shanahan and Musk denied the alleged affair, while The Wall Street Journal stood by its reporting. The allegation should not be treated as an established fact.
Other details in the story are likewise time-specific: PEOPLE identified Strumwasser as a vice president at Lightning Labs when the article was published in July 2023, and quoted Shanahan discussing co-parenting her daughter with Sergey Brin. Those remarks describe the context of that interview, not necessarily current roles or arrangements.
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