Maye Musk has become an inspirational figure for many—beginning with her three children, who have all learned from the tireless work ethic she displayed while raising them as a single mother.

The model and dietitian, 69, penned an essay for Moneyish to mark International Women's Day explaining how she taught Elon, now 46, Kimbal, 45, and Tosca, 43, how to pursue the projects they took to heart.

She looked back on the years that followed her divorce in 1979, when she struggled to make ends meet and was solely responsible for making sure her family had a home and enough to eat.

When I got divorced, I knew I needed to step it up, so I taught nutrition at a college, modeled and built my dietitian practice all over Canada. Sundays were for groceries and laundry,' Maye recounted.

'That meant I had no social life. I couldn't even go on a date because I was afraid we'd have to split the bill and then I couldn't feed my kids.'

She and her children's father, Errol, married in 1970 and split nine years later.

As a single mother, Maye learned how to juggle her different jobs while ensuring her children were cared for.

'Sometimes I would have a runway show and they would read in the front row!' she wrote. 'I would have a nanny look after them while I worked at home running my dietitian practice.'

photo credits; INQUISITR