Influencer Jen Hamilton confirmed she will keep her last name despite the breakdown of her marriage to estranged husband Brian Hamilton.
“It’s my name now,” she vowed via Instagram on Monday, July 27. “I made this name special and I’m gonna keep it.”
Jen announced her separation from Brian after “15 years of shared history” on June 15 and has since accused him of living a “double life.” (Brian has not responded to Jen’s accusation, as of publication.)
“Yes, he had a double life with a woman who was 56 years old. Yes, I should have left him way earlier — giving myself grace,” Jen, 35, said on Monday. “I am so fortunate to have the means and resources to leave a bad relationship. There are so many women who are unable to do so, whether from finances, resources, etc.”
Jen acknowledged her privileged situation while promoting her Sisterhood of Solidarity fashion line, which features “girl power” slogans such as “I Survived,” “Choosing Myself Today,” and “G.Y.A.U. (Get Your Ass Up).” Last week, the influencer promised that “100 percent of the proceeds will go to charities that help women rebuild their lives.” (Jen has also promised that all other merchandise bought from her website through the end of August will also benefit women’s charities.)
In her latest video, Jen shared the exciting news that she’d raised “over $50,000” in the last few days alone.
“Is what I’m going through just the most craziest s*** I’ve ever heard of in my life? Nope. It is awful though,” she said. “I love to take something awful and turn it into something good for other people.”
Earlier this week, Jen — who works as a nurse — opened up more than ever before about what allegedly led to the end of her marriage.
“While I was at the hospital, taking care of people, he found the time to have a whole other life. As someone who’s never even passionately kissed anyone else in my entire life, this has broken me beyond comprehension,” Jen told her Instagram followers on Sunday, July 26. “I’m done being people’s PR manager. My kids know, everybody in my orbit knows, so I’m just going to give you the nitty-gritty details so it can give you enough information to be, like, ‘OK, I get it.’”
Jen said that she “repressed [her] own natural human desires” throughout their marriage because Brian allegedly showed little interest in intimacy.
“A direct quote I got [from another woman] was, ‘I knew about you. He talked about you all the time. But I didn’t know you had so many followers,’” Jen claimed. “I’ve never, ever in my life told this man a lie. Even when I was getting next-to-no physical affection whatsoever, I would not in a million years look at another guy like that.”
“Secrets and hiding are what I believe made all this possible, so the way I’m dealing with it is by not having any secrets,” she concluded.
Jen and Brian got married in August 2012 and they share two sons, Ellis and Luke.
