US singer says she unknowingly married Malaysian sultan: ‘I deserve a proper divorce’
Brittany Porter said she went through a Muslim marriage ritual with Kelantan Sultan Muhammad V, thinking it was an engagement ceremony
Tashny Sukumaran
Published: 2:06pm, 6 Nov 2025Updated: 6:21pm, 7 Nov 2025
When
American recording artist Brittany Porter met Sultan Muhammad V, ruler of the
Malaysian state of Kelantan, she thought their fairy tale romance led to an engagement. A year later, she discovered that the Islamic
nikah ceremony was in fact a religious marriage, a revelation that came only after the country’s former monarch had cut off contact.
“In April 2024, we went on our first trip together to Oman. I thought we got engaged there, because in my culture the big ceremony is a wedding, which we planned for January 2025. So I was confused. In Oman, they brought an imam out, and I did the whole conversion, but he didn’t teach me all that much about Islam,” said the California native, who is now releasing music inspired by her break-up.
Porter, 30, said that she only recently learned that a
nikah constitutes a legally binding marriage under Islamic law. The aspiring pop singer has since broken her silence on her relationship with Muhammad V, who previously reigned as King of Malaysia from 2016 until his abdication in 2019, when he resumed duties as the ruler of the religiously conservative Kelantan province.
Brittany Porter on holiday with Sultan Muhammad V. Photo: Instagram/its.brook.lynn
“We met in January 2024 in New York, introduced by mutual friends on a night out. We had this instant chemistry and good banter,” she said, describing his intelligence and “cute” British accent as an immediate draw. “We were just friends at first, but we started talking every day and the next thing you know …”
The pair embarked on a whirlwind romance, with Porter and her friends being treated to opulent holidays in the Middle East and Thailand as well as lavish gifts of clothes, handbags and jewellery set with blue diamonds to “match [my] eyes”.
“He flew me and my friends all around the world. He was so generous, the nicest hotels, giving my friends the best treatment, experiences and gifts. He loves hotels, he probably spent millions on them for our trips,” Porter told This Week in Asia.
Upon their return to Malaysia, she was referred to as “Che Puan”, a courtesy title for non-royal women who marry senior royalty. There, she was told she had to change her dressing and demeanour to what she describes as “pretty much perfect all the time”.
US singer says she unknowingly married Malaysian sultan: ‘I deserve a proper divorce’
Shopping sprees soon became a point of contention, with the couple having arguments over her expenses as well as mismatched timetables.
“All the clothes I brought with me were obviously not right for Malaysia. We went on shopping trips to get new clothes, but then he’d complain about how much I spent, even though we’d spent lots more before. It felt like he was upset about something else and used this as an excuse. He would spend nights awake, turning off his phones in the daytime.”
The pair’s relationship became strained following Porter’s miscarriage last July, and the former monarch ceased contact with her last October.
“I freaked out and flew to Malaysia from LA, found out he was in Singapore, and flew to Singapore. He was staying on the top floor of the Four Seasons and the front desk wouldn’t let me up. I climbed the stairwell, which wasn’t my best moment. He wouldn’t answer his door, so I got a room there and kept texting asking if he wanted to talk. In the middle of the night, he just got on a plane and left. His butler texted me, apologising.”
Porter claims that Muhammad V eventually contacted one of her friends to convey that the relationship was over, describing the pair as “separated”.
“I’ve gone from thinking I was a fiancée to realising I was married to now being separated. I learned about the Islamic divorce method of
talak and checked old texts to see if he had
talak-ed me, but there’s nothing along those lines,” said Porter, who has since taken to social media to demand clarity ahead of her album launch.
Brittany Porter and Sultan Muhammad V cosy up for a photo. Photo: Instagram/its.brook.lynn
Need for closure
Her tell-all posts include screenshots of text messages as well as pictures of upscale boutiques, Chanel and Louis Vuitton shopping bags, high-end watches, a private jet interior and footage of a caged pride of lions at the royal residence.
“I never received any kind of closure and accountability. I deserve a proper divorce, a proper apology.”
Her posts have attracted the attention of hundreds of Malaysian netizens, some critical and others supportive.
“You should handle this matter personally,” posted one user, while another said: “This is why Kelantan always looks bad in people’s eyes.”
Kelantan is the second-poorest state in Malaysia, grappling with slower economic development and low household income compared to other provinces, as well as almost yearly flash flooding. The government has announced several infrastructure and poverty alleviation measures to address these gaps.
Sultan Muhammad V salutes after a welcoming ceremony to begin his term as king on December 13, 2016. Photo: AP
“People online have been telling me eye-opening things. Learning about the realities of Kelantan really disappointed me. It’s been tough to wrap my head around the fact that some people don’t even have basic necessities, because I’ve seen the way their ruler lives. That money should be spent on the people. I feel guilty being a part of that,” Porter said.
Porter also said she was shocked to see a recent social media post congratulating Sultan Muhammad V and his wife, Sultanah Nur Diana Petra, on 15 years of marriage.
“He told me they were not on speaking terms, that it was over, and she wasn’t in the picture. If I had known I was going to be a second wife, I don’t know if I would have accepted that.”
This is the second time in recent years, the Kelantan Palace has been thrown into the spotlight due to the sultan’s marriage woes.
In 2019, the Oxford-educated Muhammad V abdicated as Malaysia’s king, the first such occurrence in the nation’s history.
This came after reports he had married 27-year-old Oksana Voevodina, a Russian model and beauty queen. Oksana, who also goes by the name Rihana Petra following her conversion to Islam, is currently based in London with her son, Tengku Ismail Leon Petra.
Tengku Ismail Leon Petra is seen in a photo uploaded by his mother, Oksana Voevodina. Photo: Instagram
Porter, who said she was not in contact with Oksana, also posted images of text messages allegedly from Muhammad V detailing his alimony and child support payments to Oksana for Leon, now six.
Following the breakdown of the relationship, Porter spent several months in the UK, “doing therapy and writing a lot about my feelings”. She has since returned to public life and is pursuing a music career under the stage name Brook Lynn, releasing two singles this year and a full album next January.
“The album is about falling in love and destruction. I’ve learned I will never give my power away to a man ever again. I hope I can be a light for anyone else going through something similar to stand up for themselves and pursue their purpose.”
The Kelantan Palace has not responded to any of Porter’s statements.
Malaysia, a parliamentary democracy, possesses a unique constitutional monarchy system. Nine sultans – symbolic guardians of Islam, each overseeing a different state – take turns to be king for five-year stints. The office of the king is funded by taxpayers, while each state ruler is also provided with a yearly allocation, the amount of which is not made public.
Unlike neighbouring Thailand, Malaysia does not have strict laws against insulting royalty, but colonial-era sedition laws and other repressive legislation have been used against critics of the monarchy in the past.
In 2018, a veteran journalist was investigated under the Sedition Act after revealing that the government spent 256.9 million ringgit (US$61.4 million) in 16 months on the king’s expenses during Muhammad V’s tenure.