15-07-2025
Jann Arden goes Instagram official with girlfriend Thordis Elva: 'When you know you know'
Jann Arden has gone Instagram official with her girlfriend, Thordis Elva. On Monday, the Canadian singer shared a photo to social media that featured Elva planting a kiss on Arden's cheek while she recorded a podcast with 'Women In Media' host Sarah Burke. The 63-year-old singer called the photo a 'happy podcast outtake' and included the hashtag, 'When you know you know.'
The sweet moment earned praise from fans who were delighted to see Arden, who hosts "The Jann Arden Podcast," looking so happy.
'So heartwarming,' one follower wrote. "Just look at those beaming smiles.'
'I have a completely unnatural amount of happiness for someone I have not yet met,' another said. 'Your happiness is loud Jann, and I am here for it!"
"Seeing this brings me so much joy," a follower wrote.
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A post shared by Jann Arden (@jannarden)
Elva shared the same photo to her Instagram with the caption, "POV: When you get asked 'So what's your favourite thing about Canada?' and you decide to demonstrate."
"How lucky am I?" Arden replied.
Although it's unclear how long the pair have been an item, Arden featured Elva on her podcast earlier this year. Elva, an Icelandic writer and activist, spoke to Arden about her path to healing from sexual assault, which she documented in her 2017 book, "South of Forgiveness."
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Thordis co-authored the book with Tom Stranger, her first boyfriend who sexually assaulted her when they were teens. Together, the pair gave a 2017 TED Talk entitled, "Our story of rape and reconciliation," which has been viewed more than 6.6 million times on the official TED (technology, entertainment and design) website.
Elva works as a gender equality activist, consultant and has won numerous awards for her work as a playwright.
Arden has been open about her intimate relationships are "person specific." In 2019, she discussed her queer identity for the first time publicly while promoting her sitcom, Jann, which featured a bisexual storyline.
'I'm a fluid person, I always have been," Arden told the Canadian Press. At the time, Arden said she was hesitant to adopt a label under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, adding. 'If someone shuttled me into a room and said, 'Go pick one of those words, Jann,' I'd be like, 'Can I just have all the words?'"
Arden previously avoided discussing her sexual identity and shut down speculation that she was gay in a 2000 Globe and Mail interview.
"It's a very unfair question and one that I've never been asked before,' Arden said. 'My sexuality has no place in what I'm doing. Let's just say there are a million shades of grey.'
In 2022, the "Good Mother" singer shed light on her previous hesitancy to discuss her romantic relationships.
"I am so glad to be me. I'm so glad that I can be part of a community that is talented, brave and resilient. I am very proud to be a queer person," she told Fuges magazine. And though I didn't say much about it in my professional career, I wasn't trying to hide anything. I was just really private. This has nothing to do with my music."
