Who Is Loujain Adada? Five Facts About the ‘Dubai Bling’ Star

Loujain Adada is one of the glamorous cast-members of Dubai Bling, the new Netflix docu-soap that follows the lives of Dubai’s ultra-rich. Estimated to be the second wealthiest out of the group (following Forever Rose founder Ebraheem Al Samadi), “LJ” has grabbed the attention of viewers the world over for her candor and confidence— “I’m not playing hard to get, I am hard to get,” she bluntly told one of her dates in what is now one of the most epic one-liners to come out of the eight-episode series. On the heels of Adada’s reality television debut, here are five things you need to know about Netflix’s star-of-the-moment.

Loujain Adada was married to one of the world’s richest men

Adada married Saudi Arabian businessman Walid Juffali when she was 22-years-old. The two wed in a lavish ceremony in Venice in November 2012. According to reports, the cost of their wedding amounted to $10 million and was attended by a large number of dignitaries who were transported on two private planes. Sadly, Juffali passed away in Switzerland after a battle with cancer in 2016. In a blog post, Adada wrote that “It was the biggest loss for me especially after living a beautiful marriage full of love and sharing unforgettable moments together.”

Juffali,who was 35-years-older than Adada, was born to one of the richest families in Saudi Arabia, who run one of the Middle East’s largest conglomerates. He was also chairman of E.A. Juffali and Brothers, the biggest privately-owned business in Saudi Arabia, chairman of W Investments, and chairman of Saudi American Banks and the Saudi Cement Company. His net worth was estimated to be $9 billion at the time of his death. 

When Adada and Juffali tied the knot, he was already married to another woman at the time, American supermodel Christina Estrada. According to the New York Post, the businessman “secretly” married the Lebanese model, which prompted Christina to file for divorce. He later said he divorced Estrada in Saudi Arabia in 2014 under Islamic law without telling her, which led to a messy and costly divorce that saw Estrada get $100 million. 

 

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She has two children

The newly-minted reality star is a mother to two girls, Talia and Lana, whom she shared with her late husband. Lana was born two-months after her partner died of cancer in July 2016. The socialite stated that raising her two children is her number one priority in life.

“At this stage I’m a fully dedicated mother for my two lovely daughters and that is what is most important for me now. Most of my time is spent on family duties, responsibilities, and simply being a mom,” she said.

She’s a former model and television presenter

The Lebanese socialite shot her first magazine ad when she was just 14-years-old. The beauty ad led to several commercial modeling gigs for Adada, who revealed that she wasn’t tall enough for the runway. At 21, she would go on to land her first role as a television presenter as the host of Energy Spin Magazine, a music program on MTV Lebanon. The model presented for a couple of years, before deciding to put her career on pause after getting married.

“I couldn’t stay too long in both roles as then I got married and decided to shelve my career and build a family with my late husband. However that short period in television gave me great exposure in the Middle East and was a fantastic experience,” she said.

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She was born in California

Loujain Adada was born in California and spent the early years of her childhood in the US before her family moved back to Lebanon. “I love my country so much and I always feel like there’s something so strong about it that always brings me back there no matter where I am in the world,” she said of Lebanon. After marrying Juffali, the socialite moved to London, where she lived for nearly six-years. 

The Dubai Bling’s Star is a philanthropist

The 33-year-old loves to give back. During her years of marriage, Adada became involved in the world of philanthropy with her late husband, who founded The Brain Forum, an initiative dedicated to research on neurological diseases. Today, the mother-of-two is involved in a few charitable events that focus on the disabled community, as well as different diseases including cancer. “For myself, Walid, and our young daughters, I hope one day I could be able to continue to grow his philanthropic legacy and rekindle that passion,” she shared.