There is an age-long cliche that celebrity marriages never last. That is the cliché being echoed around the world.
From Hollywood to Nollywood victims of high-profile marriages abound. But for Nollywood superstar, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and pilot husband, Captain Matthew Ekeinde it has been a roller-coaster journey of joy, love, bountiful harvests and enduring romance. Albeit, not without some ups and downs.
Omotola was only 18 years old when the Captain (28) sought her hand in marriage. He was just a young pilot besotted by a Nollywood starlet with prospects. The enamoured Matthew Ekeinde knew what it all entailed to be married to an enchanting beauty courted by desires of all and to cap it all, young Omotola herself was a fiery prospect (still is).
She recalled in one of her several posts to mark the 25th wedding anniversary on Tuesday: “I was told severally. He was told by my mum that I wasn’t the marrying type and I truly also believed.”
An unusual couple they set out to be but nonetheless set to pay the price where it needed to be paid. As Omotola fame grew in tandem with her fortune, she became a superstar that would have been too big to handle by any man. But Captain Matthew Ekeinde knew the price to pay. Instead of allowing his ego to rule, he gave in to love and understanding, for that, is the real stuff true love is forged.
Omotola in an interview gave a picture of the understanding that exists between her and her husband, which to many African couples and parents would have seemed inappropriate.
“I always tell people that women are stronger than men, psychologically. Let me tell you something more, my husband is actually the one who goes to the market. I don’t go to the market because I can’t. Because of my status, I can’t. But my husband didn’t say you know traditionally, a man is not supposed to go to the market, I’m not gonna go, no. My husband actually goes to the market, she had revealed much to the disbelief and outrage of so many.
“Earlier in my career, I used to go with him but I’d stay in the car because our cars are tinted, so I’d stay in the car. But then, one time we went to Tejuosho and someone found out I was in the car it became a major security risk, so he said don’t ever go with me again. He goes and he has fun and he comes back home, and I do the cooking, so you see we strengthen each other,”
