Nollywood actress Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and her husband, Captain Matthew Ekeinde, an airline pilot, have one of the most enduring marriages in the Nigerian entertainment industry.
Married for 30 years, the couple met when Omotola was 16, and Matthew was 26. They officially tied the knot on March 23, 1996, when Omotola was 18 years old, a day which coincides with her husband’s birthday.
However, after 30 years together, the actress has openly declared that there is no room for divorce.
Speaking during an interview on the Afropolitan Podcast, Omotola said the goal is not to take anything away from women who, unfortunately, have had to go that route.
Divorce is not an option
Stating explicitly that divorce is not an option for her, the actress, whose film ‘Mother’s Love’ is currently showing in cinemas, said that this doesn’t mean it’s not an option for others.
She stated that she is not opposed to divorce; rather, she believes marriage is a very personal matter.
“My marriage can never be the same thing as your marriage. No two marriages are the same because no two persons are the same. So the ingredients might not be the same. You might not be married to the kind of person I’m married to,” Omotola said.
Marital bliss
Explaining further, the actress said that her husband is a very selfless person.
“He has no ego. I’ve been married to him for 30 years. I’ve never fought over a girl. I don’t have those kinds of problems. He doesn’t disturb me. If I have to do my work, I do my work, and I come back. He trusts me totally. I trust him. So our indices might not match yours.
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“You might be dealing with someone who has broken your trust, and you’re trying to build that back. Those things are different. So, for me, how do you want to penetrate? It’s going to be very hard because I’ve been with this person since I was 16. I dated him for two years,” the ‘Mortal Inheritance’ actress added.
Reiterating that she has known him all her life, the actress said that he’s like her brother and at this point, there’s almost nothing he would do that would make her dislike him to the point of hate.
“Even if I decide to walk away from this relationship tomorrow, which I think will never happen, but even if that ever happens, there’ll be a problem because the next woman or wife or girlfriend would have to still deal with me.
“I’m still going to be in his life. I don’t know if anybody can process that. But I am too close to him to let go. And he can’t get rid of me either. So you’re going to be at a disadvantage. Don’t come. There’s no point. There’s no point because we’ve gone too far,” she said.
Proviso
Despite her hardline stand against divorce, the ‘Mother’s Love’ director gave conditions under which people can leave their marriages.
“If you feel like your life has been threatened, your peace, your mental state and all of that stuff, and you’ve tried everything, you’ve tried therapy, you’ve tried family, you’ve separated, I always believe people should separate first, separate first, you’ve stayed away for a while, it’s not getting better, and you decide you want to divorce. That’s okay, too,” Omotola added.
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