Man working his way up 
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Instead, Chappelle famously walked away from the series and a $50 million paycheck. He abruptly left during production in 2006, effectively breaking his contract with Comedy Central. He was reportedly unhappy with the direction the show had taken and needed to step away.
But there has been one person who has been with the comedian through it all and that's his wife, Elaine.
Dave and Elaine Chappelle Prioritize Family Over Money
In an interview with Time, Chappelle spoke about moving to Ohio and walking away from his show, saying, "Coming here, I don't have the distractions of fame. It quiets the ego down. I'm interested in the kind of person I've got to become. I want to be well-rounded, and the industry is a place of extremes. I want to be well-balanced. I've got to check my intentions, man.”
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There was much speculation during this time in Chappelle’s life. Fans couldn’t fathom the idea that he’d walk away from his popular and successful show and $50 million. People thought he must have a drug or alcohol problem. Others thought it was a mental health issue that led comedian Dave Chappelle to walk away from it all. That wasn’t the case at all. Chappelle simply reprioritized his life in a way that was better for himself and his family.
Through the media circus that followed Dave Chappelle’s wife Elaine Mendoza stood by him. Dave and Elaine have been married for 21 years. They tied the knot in 2001 and have two sons, Sulayman and Ibrahim, and one daughter, Sanaa.
Who is Elaine Chappelle?
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Dave Chappelle’s wife Elaine Mendoza was born on August 31, 1974, to devout Christian Filipino parents. (Dave converted to Islam in 1991.) She grew up in Brooklyn and according to various sources, once planned to become a professional chef. Dave and Elaine Chappelle met more than 20 years ago, so she would have been in her 20s. After meeting and falling in love with Dave Chappelle, Elaine chose to devote herself to raising the couple’s three children.
How Did Dave Chappelle and Elaine Meet?
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During an interview with Howard Stern in the early 2000s, Dave Chappelle revealed that he met his then-girlfriend Elaine Mendoza in Brooklyn and at the time he said she was pregnant with his baby. He said that he was immediately interested in her, but she took some time to get to know Dave before committing to the relationship.
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He also revealed that she was Filipino, which led Stern and his co-host Robin Quivers to make some distasteful jokes about Asian stereotypes. Up until this point Dave Chappelle had been a regular guest on Stern’s show and even credited the exposure Stern gave him with helping his career. After they made those so-called jokes about the future Elaine Chappelle, he has continually refused to ever appear on Stern’s show again. Though he publicly says it’s because the show tapes too early in the morning, it feels like he's showing where his loyalties lie – with his wife Elaine Chappelle.
Elaine is Dave Chappelle’s Support System
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Dave and Elaine Chappelle have a strong marriage that has lasted more than two decades so far. Over the years, Dave Chappelle has made many comments about how his wife is his support system. In his final interview with Howard Stern, Chappelle said, “She was with me when I was poor.”
For a celebrity like Chappelle, it is especially important to have a strong support system in place. Fans and the media can be brutal to a public figure like Elaine Chappelle’s husband. She has been with Dave through some rocky parts of his career including when he walked away from Chappelle’s Show and the more recent controversy over the anti-trans content in his standup routine.
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He appreciates the perspective Elaine Chappelle brings to his life and said, "My wife, if it gets real bad, she’ll let me know, like, ‘Oh, you should look into this.’ But for the most part, I try not to pay attention to it because you don’t want to be careful as a comedian. I try to keep my business small enough so it can still be authentic enough.”
Speaking of that $50 million Chappelle walked away from when he quit Chapelle’s Show and voided his contract with Comedy Central – Chappelle did an interview with Conan O’Brien in 2006 during which he talked about it, saying, “My wife’s still a little salty… She’s not mad at me, but don’t think you’re going to walk away from $50 million and your wife’s just gonna be cool with it.”
Where the Married Couple is Today
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Dave and Elaine Chappelle and their three children live on a 65-acre farm in Yellow Springs, Ohio, which is located about 20 miles from the Dayton Metropolitan area. In 2006, Chappelle said, “I used to be cable’s hottest star and now I’m just a Yellow Springs guy. It turns out you don't need $50 million to live around these parts, just a nice smile and a kind way about you. You guys are the best neighbors ever. That's why I came back and that's why I'm staying.”
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Chappelle grew up in Yellow Springs, where his father was the dean of students at Antioch College.
By all accounts, Dave and Elaine Chappelle are living a peaceful, quiet, and normal life in Ohio with their children. She keeps out of the spotlight and doesn’t have any social media accounts. They appear to be a grounded couple with mutual love and respect for each other and that’s a beautiful thing.
Don't Wait for Your Dreams to Bring You What You Crave
That “thing” you are chasing is not going to bring you everything you’re imagining.
If you are reading this, you are probably striving to achieve something great in your life. You have a vision for how things will be better in a week, month, or year from now. Not an hour goes by where you don’t think about what it will feel like to have that thing you crave.
You should hold your vision close. The clarity and sense of purpose that come from a strong vision will aid you as you move the needle closer to your goals. But there’s an inherent problem with always being focused on the future, too. When you always think forward, life speeds up. Questions about how and when you’ll get things pop up like whack-a-mole in your mind. Solving problems becomes increasingly difficult under this type of duress. You feel a chronic sense of urgency to achieve more than you did yesterday, and it can at times be overwhelming.
Forward thinking is useful, but it’s not the only tool in your toolbox. Whatever dream you are chasing, it would benefit you to slow down and remember what’s available to you right now. Make sure that the thing you are striving after isn’t already sitting in your pocket.
Don't Wait for Your Dreams to Bring You What You Desire
Take a moment to consider the goal you’ve set, and ask yourself:
What will you have, be, or be capable of doing once you’ve reached it that you undisputably cannot have, be or do now?
This question sheds light on the beliefs we hold about ourselves and the resources available to us right now. Is satisfaction impossible if you don’t reach your end result? Do you need to have, be or do something before you can feel great about yourself?
The most common obstacle I run into when asking people this question is that money will help them achieve their goals.
“Well if I had more money I could be/have/do this, and…”
I’m not saying more money won’t do that. It certainly can. But you run the risk of missing out on all that’s available to you right now if you only ever employ your focus forward towards the perceived promised land of more money or the accomplishments you’re seeking.
There are more, but here are three examples of things that money, personal achievements, or results of any kind cannot give you:
1. Self-love
Money can’t buy you a better relationship with yourself.
Do you scoff when you think about loving yourself? You’re certainly not alone. But I’d bet the house that you are consistently inconsistent and fall victim to self-sabotage often. It’s hard to be consistent when the process feels like a chore.
There are no real grandiose gestures to demonstrate a love for yourself, but it must come from within. Slow down. Measure how far you’ve come, and figure out a way to celebrate small milestones that will excite you and motivate you to keep going.
A sense of gratitude towards your physical body, efforts, and accomplishments helps balance and rejuvenate the relationship you have with yourself. Achievement is a game that requires you to effectively deal with yourself, and self-love is the most powerful tool at your disposal for doing so.
2. Willpower
Maybe your vision of success isn’t to make a boatload of money. Maybe, deep down, you believe that losing the weight or achieving the goal you’ve set will unlock the door behind which infinite willpower is kept. You're in search of that feeling of unlimited power so that you can be someone others look up to.
Guess what? Whatever your goal is, that’s not coming when you achieve it. It doesn’t matter how remarkable your goal is. The truth is, making the right choice on a consistent basis is the mother of willpower. When you slow down, you realize that you only have the power to make the right choice today. Tomorrow will come, and you’ll have an opportunity to make that choice again. It will feel awkward at first, but with enough repetitions, you’ll find the willpower you are searching for.
3. The power to change results you aren’t happy with
Maybe you’re searching for the magic to help you get started. Maybe one or two areas of your life, like work and personal finances, are in order, but you’re sorely lacking in others.
Quite possibly the worst feeling in the world is knowing others have changed something that you can’t figure out. We’ve all felt as though we’re flawed, incapable, or have wasted a significant amount of time.
“If only I knew this when I was younger, life would have been so different!”
Achieving your goal will not make your next success easier. We like to think that some people just have it all figured out, but that’s not the case. You must be willing to embrace the suck at first and enter each arena that you’d like to improve on separately. You’ll notice patterns from previous experiences, but the skills you’ll need to achieve your goals have to be developed from scratch.
Hold this close: you’re always one decision away from making the right decision. No result will allow you to wave a magic wand and achieve something else.
Stop and smell the roses
A life with a bigger bank account, a trimmer waist line, a happier family or a greater sense of purpose are all great things. You should want to want those things. Forward thinking will help you create the vision for your life that you want.
But don’t forget to stop and smell the roses every once in awhile. Remember what’s available to you right now, in this moment.
There is more right now than you can probably imagine.