After the glitz and glamour of celebrity weddings, which leave many wowed and fascinated, sometimes what follows is a fiasco of insults and lawsuits. However, some Nigerian celebrity marriages have defied the odds and stood the test of time. Hitz writes on the marital journey of some celebrities.
It has been argued that you will find the most bizarre of marriages amongst celebrities. There are the good, the bad and the outright ugly. Many theories have been proffered to explain the seeming inability of celebrities to hold their marriages together. Some would say it’s because they are engrossed in the fame and want more publicity, among other possible reasons. However whilst other marriages crumble, some celebrities have been able to keep it together.
Though there’s no questioning the fact that there are more failed Hollywood marriages than successful ones, when it comes to Nollywood the trend doesn’t seem to run the same course as there are so many Nollywood marriages that have endured and survived. While it is true there are many ‘enduring marriages’ walking the thin line between success and failure, there are also those that are looking shipshape, haven weathered storms.
Below are some respected celebrity couples who have been in the entertainment industry for years and are still enjoying a blissful marriage:
Omotola and Mathew Ekeinde
Actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and husband Matthew Ekeinde marked their 18th wedding anniversary recently. Omotola’s husband, Matthew, is a pilot and ten years her senior. They met when she was just 16 and he proposed two years later. In 1997, Omotola gave birth to their first daughter. Together, the couple have four children, Princess, M.J., Meriaih and Michael Ekeinde. In 2001, the couple were wedded in a ceremony on board a plane flying from Lagos to Benin, with close family and friends present. Since her Nollywood film debut in 1995, Jalade-Ekeinde has appeared in 300 films, selling millions of video tapes, cds and dvds. She is the first African celebrity to receive over 1 million likes on her Facebook page. Her popular nickname, “Omosexy,” was given to her by her husband. “That’s my husband’s pet name for me,”she explains, “and the fans love it, and now people call me Omosexy almost more than Omotola.” In 2013, she was honoured in Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world alongside Michelle Obama, Beyonce and Kate Middleton. “I think that’s what gives me more satisfaction,” she says. “The fact that I wasn’t just recognised as an artiste but as an icon — I’m very grateful for it.” In all interviews, the couple say the secret to their long-lasting and loving marriage is mutual trust, respect and God’s grace. In their case, the popular cliché “behind every successful man there is a woman” could be reversed: in this case, it is apt to say that “behind Omotola’s successful marriage there is a trusting husband!”
Olu and Joke Jacobs
They are both Nollywood actors and they have set the pace for upcoming actors and actresses in the industry. The couple have shown that you can be a career person and at the same time keep your home.
Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva grew together in acting, and view each other like partners, not rivals. They are unarguably the oldest couple in Nollywood today. They have been married for almost 30-years, yet their love is still strong! During Joke Silva’s 50th birthday celebration in 2011, the couple renewed their marital vows and Joke was in tears!
Recalling how they met, Joke says, “When I first met Olu, he was this dashing guy. He was just such incredible fun! We got along very well. I didn’t even know his age; I thought maybe he was in his late twenties, early thirties. I screamed when I found out his age. He was 39 and I was 20! Well, eventually it was my mum who gave me the go ahead because she saw how serious I was with him and hadn’t seen me that serious with anyone. My dad was worried about the age difference but my mum was able to make him see reason.
“I remember he proposed when we went for dinner and a Greek meal was served. I think he got the people in the restaurant involved in the whole arrangement; oh…it was just so romantic!” Joke says.
“There’s a lot of societal pressure that makes men not be themselves. A man should be allowed to be vulnerable, strong, supportive, sometimes challenged and needing somebody to help him through and he should also be there for the person as well. On a parting note, for those couples about to jump the broom, go ahead and do it! Go in and enjoy each other; enjoy every moment of your marriage,” Olu effused.
Tunde and Wumi Obe
Popularly called TWO, they sing together under the same label and they have left no stone unturned to make their marriage work. They met in 1998 at Unilag when he belonged to a band called Turning Point. They sailed through university and then got married. Tunde and Wunmi have been married for over 10-years. They always work together in whatever venture they got into. They are all-round entertainers, and have carved a niche for themselves with their peculiar type of music. They are also believed to be one of the entertainment industry’s most popular celebrity couple.
They shine like stars and their dressing is usually colour, design and fabric coordinated. They are blessed with three children; the eldest Modesayo is 9, Ricardo is 7, while their last child Andrew, is 5.
Isaac and Nneka Moses
The passionate duo behind Goge Africa, Nneka and Isaac Moses, have been married since 1998. They met on a movie set two years earlier in 1996. He was a budding actor and she was a costumier with a tiny part in the movie as his girlfriend. Life would soon imitate art: a relationship developed between them and they eventually got married. The couple is blessed with a lovely son.
When it comes to the lasting marriages, one begins to wonder how they worked, while questioning the avalanche of reasons being put forward to explain why most celebrity marriages hit the rocks. While most people say celebrities’ relationships don’t last long, I say those whose marriages don’t survive are people who don’t try hard enough to make it work.
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