Image: Us Weekly

He is the boss of the uber-successful multinational tech company—Amazon— and the richest man in the world, according to Forbes. Jeff Bezos is synonymous with ingenuity and wealth. Before now, he was popular only for his tech genius, but the last couple of days have thrown the doors of his personal life open to the prying eyes of the public. At first, it seemed to be not much of a big deal save for the humongous amount of cash involved; yet another couple were heading to the courts to put an end to their union.

However, things took a different turn when news began to make the rounds regarding another woman in the picture. The gist got juicier with the revelation of the romantic messages Mr Besoz allegedly sent to his mistress.

I do not intend to pontificate on adultery and the ill-wind it portends for relationships founded on exclusivity in this piece. No, I am not about to do that. What piques my curiosity is how a man of Bezos’ calibre— in all of his staggering wealth, incredible influence and swamped schedule— made out time to compose romantic messages that read like something out the pages of Mills and Boon.

The rhetoric we are constantly fed is that men like Bezos are too busy to indulge in mundane activities in the mould of authoring racy chats. The Gates, Dangotes and Bezos’s of this world are supposed to always be neck-deep in executing strategies, charting new paths for his companies and keeping a close tab on emerging opportunities. “Men like Jeff Bezos can have affairs, but they are not cut out for all the mushy stuff the average relationship thrives on,” we say.

Apparently, nothing could be further from the truth.

I have always suspected it was.

That idea that one person can be so busy that they never get the chance to express love in little (or big ways). It’s a ruse. However, our men have repeated this narrative time and again.

“I have been in meetings all day, it’s practically impossible to give you a call or send you a message.”

“There’s no way I can receive or make calls, babe. I need you to understand that work is crazy right now.”

This is not to suggest that one cannot be inundated with tasks often. It is also not to undermine the sweat and blood some of us literally shed in demanding work environments.

Nevertheless, no one is fully engaged every second of every day of their lives; somewhere in the middle of the chaos and everything we must accomplish, we still squeeze out time to check up on our loved ones.

I have heard average young men give excuses about how they are so immersed in the daily hustle that they are unable to send an “I am missing you” line to their girlfriend. And when she voices her dissatisfaction with the situation, they tag her a nag. She is labelled a trouble maker who refuses to understand that a man can be busy enough to not keep in touch.

Jeff Bezos has just rendered that argument baseless.

Nobody is too busy to keep in touch with those dearest to them. Nobody.

Yes, it’s possible to be overwhelmed to the point of exhaustion sometimes. It’s a reality that some people get so swamped that they can hardly find some me time to grab something to eat, let alone look out for their neighbour. Nonetheless, it’s improbable that this sort of situation occurs on a daily basis.

The same dude who swears he barely has the luxury of sleep will ensure he never misses his favourite team’s match or weekly hangouts with the guys. Priorities.

At the end of the day, no matter how occupied we are, we still create time for the people and things that matter to us.

Jeff is one of the busiest men in the world, yet he became a poet for love.

What’s your excuse?