Shivon Zilis has spoken out about her breakup with Elon Musk.
Zilis, 38, took to X on Saturday to announce that Musk, 53, had ended their relationship. The Neuralink executive and mother of four of his children posted a lengthy, emotional thread to the platform revealing the split came suddenly.
“It’s hard to go from in love to let go in a week with no warning, but that’s just how it is sometimes,” she wrote on X.
Zilis described the depth of her feelings for the Tesla CEO and what she tried to provide him during their time together. “I feel happy that I got to show Elon how it feels to be deeply understood, nurtured, and peacefully loved with stability and gentleness,” she continued on the social media platform. “Given the tumultuous nature of his early life, his often tortured soul, and how hard he fights for humanity I wanted him to feel the deepest and most stable form of love this world can provide. My heart is full knowing I got to do that, and I hope it leaves a lasting good effect.”
The Canada-born executive framed their household as a refuge from Musk’s demanding public life. “We were always his safe space,” Zilis wrote on X. “A place where all of us were overjoyed to see him and one that was always full of happiness and love, not war, in contrast to his otherwise militant existence (a needed break from the battlefield where he could recharge his heart and soul before heading back out).”
She emphasized her role in offering him emotional respite. “I loved being that counterbalancing place of safety, sense of calm, and love — and delighted in bringing a smile back to his face when he was down,” she shared. “I will miss him dearly.”
The thread also revealed the personal cost of the separation. “I’ve loved him more than life itself and he’s taught me 100 lifetimes of knowledge and made my cup overflow with life meaning, so there is a lot of loss,” Zilis wrote. She quickly pivoted to gratitude for their shared parenthood, adding on X: “but luckily we created four beautiful little loves of my life I am so beyond grateful for our children and they make every single day the best day of my life!”
Zilis and Musk have three children together whose births were revealed in 2022, though the full extent of their family became clearer over time. She joined Musk’s circle through the artificial intelligence world, serving on the board of OpenAI before it became a household name and later working at Neuralink, his brain-computer interface company.
Her post concluded with a hope for continued connection despite the romantic split. “I do hope and pray he and I can be great friends and coparents,” she wrote on X. “I’m hurting, but care deeply about E and will always be cheering for his happiness. God speed, Elon, the world is lucky to have you.”
Musk has not publicly responded to Zilis’s thread. The unfollowing appeared to occur around the same period as her announcement, based on social media observations.
The breakup adds to a period of intense public scrutiny around Musk’s personal life. Author Ashley St. Clair separately claimed in February that she had given birth to Musk’s child, and has since pursued legal action seeking recognition of paternity. St. Clair has also spoken publicly about a proposed $40 million nondisclosure agreement she declined. Musk has disputed aspects of St. Clair’s account while acknowledging the possibility he is the father.
The world’s richest man now has at least fourteen known children with multiple partners, including musician Grimes and Justine Musk, his first wife. His family arrangements have drawn increasing attention as he has become more vocal about population decline and his own role in addressing it through procreation.
Zilis’s candid post stood out for its unguarded emotion from a figure who had previously kept her relationship with Musk largely private. The thread drew millions of views and extensive commentary across social platforms within hours of publication.
Musk is scheduled to appear at a political rally in Wisconsin on Sunday alongside other figures from his America PAC.