Veteran actress Idowu “Iya Rainbow” Philips has opened up on why she chose not to remarry after the death of her husband, actor Augustine “Baba Osumare” Phillips.
Baba Osumare, who founded the Osumare Theatre Group, died in 1984. The couple had five children together.
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Speaking in a viral video excerpted from her interview on her junior colleague Bimpe Akintunde’s “Iriri Mi” podcast, posted on YouTube on 17 October, the 83-year-old actress said her late husband’s passing closed her heart to marriage.
Iya Rainbow explained that although she never made a deliberate decision to remain single, her experiences with men after her husband’s death changed her outlook on getting married again.
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The Ogun-born actress noted, “My husband died forty-three years ago, and I didn’t decide not to remarry. They (men) came after the death of my husband, but you know, men are empty-headed. The one who said he wanted to marry me came one night, and some of my husband’s apprentices didn’t leave after his death, and I always cooked our food together. So we made Eba in a bowl, and the soup was in a big pot, and we were eating. He knocked at the door, and we asked him to come in, and he came in and was like ‘What’s happening here?’ He excused me and asked about the children, and I said they’re mine.
“Am I supposed to chase my husband’s apprentices away when he dies?
He asked ‘Are you sure you’re the one who gave birth to them?’ And I said yes. He said they’re about ten, but I said they’re eleven. I only gave birth to five of them, but I can’t chase them; they were with my husband beside his death. That’s how he ran away; since then, I said goodbye to men. They (men) are liars. They’re full of lies, they’ll come, eat, and also make love to you and hang their clothes and end up saying I’ll see you tomorrow, Idowu. I would cry. I said I’m happy that he hasn’t slept with me. Thank you, you’ve not slept with me. Since then, men disgust me, and I don’t even like to see them.”
Advise
Furthermore, the actress recently celebrated sixty years on stage, saying she devoted herself to raising her children and ensuring they never lacked or suffered for anything.
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She added that she advised widows like herself to avoid engaging in promiscuous relationships with men in exchange for financial support for their children.
According to her, while some heeded her advice and are now reaping the benefits, others chose to ignore it.
“A lot of women approached me for help because they are widows, and I was like, how about me, am I not a widow? I asked one of them if she knew Mile 12.
“I asked her to go there and see those people who wear shoes in the mud; they used to help them wash their legs. You can help them wash their legs and keep the money. Before God and man, she now has a shop. Those who listen to our advice have made it in life”, said Iya Rainbow.
Iya Rainbow resigned from her position as a healthcare assistant in Nigerian general hospitals and fully ventured into acting in 1986, following the advice of the late Chief Hubert Ogunde after her husband’s death.
Since then, she has appeared in numerous films, including “Yemi My Love,” “Irepodun,” “Eyin Ogongo,” “N150 Million,” “Edaa,” “Oga Bolaji,” “Sugar Rush,” “Becoming Abi,” and “Madami,” among others.
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