Former Miss SA celebrates 14th wedding anniversary after "so much has changed"
More than a decade after walking down the aisle, Jo-Ann Strauss reflected on the love and loss she's felt since that happy day.
At the end of March 2012, the Miss South Africa 2000 winner got married to her German husband, Michael Held, at the Camps Bay Retreat Boutique Hotel.
The wedding was an intimate gathering of their closest friends and family, including her Johan and Ingrid Strauss, and her brother, Heinrich.
For their 14th wedding anniversary, Strauss celebrated the milestone by sharing pictures of the day on social media.
In the caption, she wrote about her father walking her down the aisle, her mother helping her into her dress, and her late brother, who was her man of honour.
"Years later, so much has changed, and I am grateful for always being held in grace," she said.
Unfortunately, the media personality and international speaker has experienced many highs and lows since her big day.
Her younger brother, with whom she shared a close bond, passed away in December 2021.
"I often think of him in the oddest times and want to call him to tell him something I know would have make him laugh. He still feels so part of my life. And I'm most afraid that the memories will become less vivid as I want to hold on to him as much as I can," she wrote in 2022.
Her mother, Ingrid, now suffers from dementia.
"Thank you to all the strangers who kindly engage with her, human to human. My dad is such a strong man. He always shows me that her dignity is his priority," Jo-Ann said about the kindness of strangers in an August 2025 post.
"People with dementia deserve dignity. I am so grateful for all he has taught me. And for all my mom continues to teach me and our children. Patience. Humility. And unconditional love."
The 45-year-old beauty queen and her orthopaedic surgeon husband are primarily base din Cape Town but divide their time between South Africa and Germany.
The couple has four children together.
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Image: Jo-Ann Strauss Official Instagram