MasterChef Australia star Huda reveals: "I married my sister's husband"
She made it through to MasterChef Australia, but life for Saudi Arabian-born Huda was not easy. At the tender age of 16, the now mother-of-three lost her elder sister, Zainab, due to a pregnancy incident.
It was only three years ago the 34-year-old found out about the tragic circumstances that led to her sister's passing.
“I knew she had a miscarriage, but I didn’t really know anything,” she told TV WEEK.
“And I didn’t have the courage to ask my mum about it. It was tragic.”
Two years later, when Huda turned 18, her parents arranged for her to marry her late sister’s husband, Abdulmunem.
“It was awkward, and I didn’t know if it was the right thing to do, but I was young,” she explains. “My parents knew he was a good man and it’s the traditional way of marriage [in Arab culture].”
But despite the unconventional path, Huda couldn’t be happier, saying Abdulmenem is a “gift” from her dear sister.
“I’m so lucky to have a supportive husband,” she says. “I just want to say thank you to her.”
The couple have been together for 15 years and have three children.
“I’m doing this for all of us,” she says of her MasterChef journey.
MasterChef Australia airs Monday to Thursday, and Sunday, 7:30 pm on Channel 10.