Who Is Chanel Ayan's Husband Chris Pillott and How Did He Fall for Her?

As fans may recall, Ayan revealed some details about her early romance with her husband, Chris, during th an episode of RHODubai, saying, "My sister introduced me to him,"  adding, "He wanted to dance with me because I'm a f-cking great dancer, I can move, man. So, he liked my dance moves."

Ayan told Vogue Arabia that she first met Chris, an entrepreneur, in Nairobi at a restaurant. At the time, she was 17, had just finished high school, was engaged to her cousin, spoke little English and had never left her country.

Chris, on the other hand, was 22, had just graduated college, was based in Brazil, and “enjoying his independence.”

In an interview with Nigerian Tribune, Ayan said that Chris was “her first love and the only person” that she has ever been with. At first, the couple took things slow, letting their romance evolve over time — especially because her family opposed the match.

“Running away with a white man, that’s unheard of,” Ayan told Vogue Arabia. “The people in my community are thinking that’s unacceptable. She’s marrying outside our culture, that’s unacceptable.”

 Ayan’s family was able to come around to their relationship, and now some of Ayan’s siblings have also married outside of their culture. 

And although her career as a model can be demanding , for over the past 20 years, Ayan and Chris have been able to make it work. “I believe in love,” she told Nigerian Times. “I have kept all my love this 20 years, I have kept my kid knowing his mum and dad, compared to how I grew up, that makes me really proud of the other person, to show my kid there are better people and people can keep their relationship intact and fight for family values and all that stuff.”

Ayan and Chris are the parents to a 17-year-old son, Taj, who Ayan lovingly refers to as “cookie” and he is already following in his mom’s footsteps.

The teen is a model, according to his Instagram account, and signed to IMG Models. Don’t worry, he isn’t being left out of the family business: Taj recently posed alongside Ayan in a campaign for her makeup line, and she only had the sweetest things to say about her look-alike son.

“I am so proud and thankful to be your mum,” Ayan wrote in the caption of the post. “I love and thank you for being a face of AYAN Beauty with your mama. You are truly unique and my bloodline.”

It also appears that Taj has a good sense of humor. He can sometimes be seen on Ayan’s TikTok account, calling her out for exaggerating her morning routine and dancing in the rain with her.

Chris has also shared heartwarming photos of spending time with Taj, one of which Ayan commented on, writing, "My favorite human beings on this earth."

Since The Real Housewives of Dubai Season 1 finale aired in 2022, Ayan has been very busy. Together, Ayan and Chris are the founders of Ayan Beauty, her makeup company that she runs alongside her best friend and makeup artist, Toni Malt. 

Ayan told Women’s Wear Daily in June 2022 that her makeup line is inspired by her time spent in the modeling industry and her love of beauty.

“I love when a woman feels good about themselves when they wear makeup, or when they don’t,” she said. “When they just have skin products on their face. Sometimes when I don’t have makeup on, I feel so powerful. Like you’re feeling good about yourself today. So I just want people to feel confident in their own skin whenever they want to feel.”