Nollywood star, Funke Akindele, has opened up about everything from the drama of her first marriage to the joys of the second and to the tough 2020 she had.
The 44-year-old actress married Kehinde Almaroof Oloyede aka “Kenny Doo” on May 26, 2012. The couple separated 1 year and 46 days after citing irreconcilable differences. Mr Oloyede is the newly-elected chairman of the Oshodi-Isolo Local Government in Lagos.
The actress opened up about the short-lived first marriage for the first time ever on a recent episode of #WithChude, with the Co-founder of Joy, Inc. Chude Jideonwo.
‘WithChude’ is a special series of targeted multimedia conversations and investigations focused on narratives that enable and strengthen the mind, heart, and spirit.
‘‘The marriage ended in a bad way. I was filming when someone called and told me. I wanted to die. I cried and lost a lot of deals; You know I cried, lost some good deals then. But I didn’t let it break me,’’ she said.
“You know, I just wanted to get married. I want to do things right, have children, and all that. And I went into the (first) marriage, it didn’t work out. And it ended in a very bad way, in social media, the noise was everywhere. I was actually filming and somebody called me and told me, I wanted to die!’’.
Lessons
Sharing some lessons from her first marriage, the actress advised spinsters not to feel pressured into marriage to take their time because if they rush in, they will be forced to rush out.
She said: “I don’t want to drag anybody. I’ll talk about myself. I just wanted to get married. Children, pressure, and all that. As a young lady out there, do not be pressured to get married. Get married because you want to get married, get married because you love him, you want to spend the rest of your life with him. Don’t get married because mummy and daddy are saying get married or your friend just got married, have children because you want to have children, you want to be blessed with children, you love children.”
“Don’t have children because the society will say “ah she’s barren ohh, 12 years 6 years e never marry” ignore the gossips, ignore the naysayers, give them “sorry the middle finger, I don’t care”. Yes, ignore because you have your life, do what makes you happy.”
On how she was able to pull through the turbulent times she experienced after her marriage ended, Akindele, said: “I survived that period by channeling my pain into work. I was collecting every script from the East and acting.
“I rushed into the marriage out of pressure and it didn’t end well.
Akindele married Nigerian rapper JJC Skillz in London in May 2016. Her pregnancy rumours were among the top searched results on Google search engine in August 2017. They welcomed twin boys in December 2018 and have several step-children.
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