In some parts of the world, African movies reign, spearheaded
by Nigerian powerhouse Nollywood, and the actors are demi-gods. With
their repertoire of popular movies, they have undoubtedly mended cracks
in the union of some viewers, but then, many of their own marriages have
been characterised by heartbreaks, separations and divorces.
They have made their way into the hearts of millions of people, who
dream to be like them. But either at home or abroad, there is one thing
none of their fans will pray for —failed marriages and heartbreaks.
This development seems to be more rampant among the movie stars.
While some of them have remained eligible spinsters/bachelors, those
that managed to walk down the aisle barely sustain the momentum. The
list of movie stars with failed marriages is endless, and with the
recent decision of actress Laide Bakare to walk out of her marriage to
Mr. Okunfulire, the last has not been heard.
Laide Bakare, after about three years of denying that there are
cracks in her matrimonial home, has eventually walked out of her
marriage. In the early hours of 3 May, she officially announced through
her publicist, Folorunsho Hamsat, that her marriage has hit the rocks.
Laide Bakare: Opted out of her marriage
The official statement from her publicist reads thus: “We would like
to announce to the general public on behalf of Nollywood star actress,
Laide Bakare, that she has officially opted out of her relationship with
Mr. Okunfulire, her former husband.
“While it lasted, the actress showed the utmost level of maturity, in
spite of the ‘glaring injustice’ from her former husband. Laide has
endured the marriage with Mr. Okunfulire for whom she displayed total
affection. But things fell apart when she discovered that she was indeed
married to a man with a legally married wife and two children not a
single man she thought he was as told her by Mr. Okunfulire when the
relationship started.
“But, being a celebrity who has become a model to young persons in
the society, coupled with the need to exercise decorum, she has kept
fate with the marriage until lately when she could no longer continue
and then called it quits. Her former union with Mr. Okunfulire produced a
beautiful child, Similoluwa who is nicknamed Chelsea.”
The Yoruba actress also announced that she has moved on by settling
down with another man, Mr. Tunde Oriowo. She claimed that her
relationship with the latter began late last year, a development that
has been criticised.
Barely a week after this announcement, Mr. Okunfulire, who is based
abroad, opened a can of worms in an interview with a soft-sell magazine.
He claimed that Laide is still his wife, though there have been cracks
in their marriage because “she sleeps around.” Okunfulire added that he
only learnt of his wife’s statement on the purported breakup on social
media.
Laide Bakare’s sordid tale is just one of the numerous heartbreaks and marriage break-up scandals in the movie industry.
Many female entertainers in Nigeria are victims of this. It is either
they have a broken marriage or don’t even have one at all. Some of them
have blamed it on the society. They claimed that most Nigerian men have
low self esteem, and cannot differentiate between their woman’s real
character and make-belief. They argued further that an average Nigerian
man will not be comfortable with his wife, fiancée or girlfriend, as the
case may be, being smooched by another man in a movie.
They also blamed the media. The media, according to actress Benita
Nzeribe, has broken many celebrity relationships with their sensational
gossips. “No mother would read such scandalous stories and still allow
her son to marry such lady. The media is not helping matters. The most
painful aspect of it is that most of the things they write about us are
not true.”
But Asiwaju Benson Akindeju, the producer of television dramas
–Family Ties, Face-2-Face and Nowhere To Be Found, opined that the
female entertainers, actresses in particular, should work more on their
personality, rather than blame the society or media for their inability
to get married.
Akindeju said the problem is more complex than what most people can
imagine. “I think the problem starts with their inability to manage
stardom. They could be humble at the initial stage of their career, but
the moment fame comes, they tend to lose everything, forgetting that no
matter the situation, an African man would always want to command
respect from his wife.”
He added that most of them are so arrogant that they can’t even
listen to simple corrections on set. “I have had cause to walk some of
them off my set for insubordination. Most of them cannot manage stardom
and it is a big problem. They always forget that nothing lasts for
ever. If you are the best actress today, someone must surely take the
baton from you tomorrow. So whatever you manage to achieve within your
active reign is what you will live to remember. No matter her fame or
achievements, a woman without a husband cannot be regarded as a
successful person.”
Having played roles where they teach viewers many lessons about
marriage and relationships, one would simply imagine that these
actresses have one of the best homes or relationships, but the reverse
is obviously the case.
The list of Nollywood actresses facing marital challenges seems to be
endless. While some have tasted broken marriages, others have continued
over the years to be eligible spinsters, and it has become an issue of
growing concern. Many of the marriages break up on grounds of infidelity
and battery.
Chika Ike: Lost her marriage to infidelity and assault
Chika Ike, one of the most beautiful Nigerian actresses, got married
to Tony Eberiri in 2006, but a few years later, the union hit the rocks
following allegations ranging from infidelity to assault.
The actress,
who filed for divorce, said in an interview: “I have a lot of friends
who would have left their marriages but because of the African society,
their in-laws, what people will say or other factors, they stay. We’ve
heard a lot of deaths caused by bad marriages and before the death,
there would have been signs, things would have been happening leading up
to that. I think it has to do with age and many other things like
compatibility and not being true to yourself in the marriage. Everybody
has a limit. There are some things in marriage that you might not be
able to stand. Some people’s limit might not be my limit. My limit might
be somebody’s starting point.”
One of the most shocking was that of
Fathia and Saheed Balogun. The
much celebrated union hit the rocks over multiple allegations of
infidelity, and efforts by influential personalities in the country to
settle their differences fell on deaf ears.
Eucharia Anunobi: Quited over constant battery
Actress Eucharia Anunobi, who is now a pastor, called it quits with
Charles Ekwu, the father of her son, Joshua, a few years after they got
married. Eucharia cited constant battery by Charles as the reason she
pulled out of the union. But it was actually Charles that first walked
out of the relationship. He actually abandoned the actress and her son.
At the tender age of 15, Shan George got married and after bearing
two kids, she walked out of the marriage at 21, alleging that her
husband couldn’t send her to school but rather turned her into a
punching bag. After she graduated from the University of Lagos at the
age of 29, she has tried to get married on two occasions but all to no
avail.
Clarion Chukwurah is no doubt one of the most talented actresses in
Nigeria. She had been married twice; first to the brother of the late
Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola and later to the Oduneyes, but at the moment, she
is a single mother.
Popular actress, Ayo Adesanya moved out of her matrimonial home over
alleged battery by her hubby, Goriola Hassan, who later blamed Ayo’s
unfaithfulness for his actions. The hitherto rosy relationship hit the
rocks amid controversy.
Frequent crisis, irreconcilable differences and incompatibility
wrecked the four-year old marriage of actress Foluke Daramola to
ex-hubby, Mr. Adebowale, though she is now married to Kayode Salako.
Ibinabo
Ibinabo Fibresima, the National President of the Actors’ Guild of
Nigeria, AGN, is among female entertainers with failed marriages. The
Okrika, Rivers State-born actress has experienced two failed marriages
that produced two children.
Monalisa
Actress Monalisa Chinda accused her ex-husband, Dejo Richards, of
battery and she moved out of her matrimonial home. The union was blessed
with a daughter. The list of the industry’s personalities with failed
marriages include Bimbo Oshin, Doris Simeon, Kate Henshaw, Moji Olaiya,
Fred Aseroma, Emem Isong and Peace Anyiam Osigwe to mention a few.
Sultry actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde is one of the few lucky
actresses that have enjoyed a good marital life. In an interview, she
identified the inability of her colleagues to “draw the lines between
their profession and family” as the reason behind many failed marriages.
According to Omotola, an average African man will not compromise the
level of respect he gets from his spouse, and as a result, the woman,
irrespective of her status or class, must give due respect and time to
her family.
The multiple award-winning actress cited that for instance, “when you
see me outside, I’m Omo Sexy, the movie star. But at home, I’m the
humble and obedient wife and mother. The moment you fail to realise
this, there is likely to be a problem in your relationship.”
culled from:
informationng
![IMG-20130605-00139[1]](http://dailypost.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/IMG-20130605-001391.jpg)
![IMG-20130605-00138[1]](http://dailypost.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/IMG-20130605-001381-1024x768.jpg)
