Last month, when Australian and Victoria's Secret model Shanina Shaik became engaged to Greg Andrews, popularly known as DJ Ruckus, she was asked what role religion played in her upbringing, among other background questions. Her mother is of Lithuanian and Australian heritage while her father is of Pakistani and Saudi Arabian descent.
Shaik, who will turn 25 years old this month, told Ocean Drive magazine when my mother married her father, she had to change to Islam. "So my brother and I were both born and raised Muslim. My dad's not a super strict Muslim, so I had a really normal upbringing. It was just about respecting the religion, like how we ate (no pork, trying to eat halal food)."
However, after her parents divorced when she was 6 or 7 years old, Shaik said her father wasn't in her life as much after that, and she changed back to Catholic.
"My mum basically said to me, 'We are our own person, we believe in our own beliefs, and we can choose what religion we want to follow.'"
Shaik said she respects both of her parents' religions.
She started modeling when she was eight years old. She moved to New York City when she was 17 years after being discovered by New York Model Management.
Shaik engaged Andrews, "the most sought-after disc jockey in the world," during January, after dating for less than a year. The New York-born and Miami-raised disc jockey has worked for well-known celebrities, such as Oprah Winfrey, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Jennifer Lopez.
The 31-year-old musical entrepreneur started spinning music not long after receiving a pair of turntables for his 14th birthday.
"Yes, I was truly surprised [about the engagement]," Shaik confessed to Ocean Drive magazine. "I've been with Greg for about nine months now, so it was really quick, but it feels right. We're best friends, and we're obviously very much in love, and we have lots of fun with each other. We understand each other's life and career, and I think that's important as well. I was super happy and so excited that he asked me to marry him."
Andrews said he first saw her at an after-party at Coachella [sitting] in a corner. "And I was like, 'What are you doing sitting here by yourself? You should be with me,'" he told The New York Post in an interview last year.
Family pal Denzel Washington and his wife Pauletta were asked by Andrews for assistance with the proposal because FedEx didn't deliver on Christmas Day. The Washingtons took two engagement rings, designed by Andrews, to Los Angeles for him.
