If you ask anyone, they’ll tell you that marriage is tough. It’s a life-long institution from which you never graduate. If you’re married, you will keep learning every day and will often have to make hard decisions, not necessarily for your own sake, but for the benefit of your partner.
However, all these challenges pale in comparison when the marriage involves entertainment personalities.
Late nights, weeks away from home, desperate groupies, and over-exuberant admirers. These are just some of the factors that conspire against the marriage of entertainers.
Little wonder then that marriages in the entertainment industry crash like badly arranged cards almost on a daily basis.
However, despite the ominous clouds that are always gathering over celebrity unions, some have been able to weather the storms, and despite all odds, they have kept on, doggedly fighting for their marriages at all turns in the early stage. It is a well-known fact that the early years of marriage are usually the toughest.
One of such people is ‘Kele Kele’ crooner and MTN and Pepsi ambassador, Tiwa Savage-Balogun.
Tiwa tied the knots with Tunji ‘Teebillz’ Balogun who was her then manager in a traditional ceremony in November, 2013, followed by a white wedding in Dubai in April 2014.
However, the couple’s ship of love has encountered more than enough storms. At a time, it was reported in a section of the media that Tiwa’s family was not happy with the fact that she was being managed by Tunji. Her family was said to have advised the husband to go into another line of business instead of waiting on his wife all the time.
Finally, Tiwa sacked Teebillz as her manager and employed his protégé, Mekka Millions. This was days after she was unusually late in wishing him a ‘Happy Birthday’ celebration on social media. She is known to fondly rejoice with her friends and loyal fans on their special occasions throughout all her social media accounts.
The rumour mills practically went agog with tales that Teebillz used to batter her and also cheated on her.
Weeks after that though, the couple was spotted at a club in Lagos amidst hints that they had settled their grievances and have moved on in love.
Tiwa announced that she was pregnant on 1st January, 2015, and weeks after that, her hubby flaunted her on Instagram when he posted her picture with the words, “They don’t know about our love.”
Another entertainment personality that has kept faith with her marriage is radio/TV personality and party booster, Toke Makinwa.
Toke had almost given up on her 12-year relationship with then boyfriend, Maje Ayida, so she broke up with him at the tail end of 2013.
However, just like a knight in shining armour, Maje swept her off her feet with a surprise wedding on January 15th, 2014.
They celebrated their first wedding anniversary some days ago and Toke took to her social media accounts to summarise her marriage experience of the past one year.
She wrote, “Happy Anniversary to the Captain of my ship, it feels like it was only yesterday we started this journey of ours, it’s been 365 days of God’s Favour on us. It takes a real man to love a woman like me, it is a lot of work, I’m not the easiest person in the world to manage but you do it effortlessly. You love me flaws and all and for that I will always say ‘You the man’…here is wishing us a 100 more years together, loooooooool okay maybe 80…”
Maje Ayida replied, “I found you most beautiful not when you were all fancied up, but when you weren’t. When you were lying on the carpet, your hair all a mess…that’s when I couldn’t take my eyes off you. Thank you @tokemakinwa for giving me light. Happy paper anniversary to my darling wife. @tokemakinwa; it may be one year on paper, but God spent years preparing me for you,” he waxed philosophical.
Nollywood actress, Mercy Johnson-Okojie, aka Mama Purity, is another entertainer that has made sure that the many distractions in the movie industry have not kept her away from working hard on her marriage.
She got married to Prince Odianosen Okojie on August 27th 2011, amidst tales that she snatched him from his former wife, Lovely Okojie.
However, three years down the line, the couple’s love is still blossoming.
Ever since she got married, there haven’t been any negative stories about her, except when she was banned by movie marketers for charging what they considered exorbitant fees before accepting scripts.
She now has two children and she doesn’t appear so much in movies these days. She’s trying to build her home and children at this early stage. Mercy is also known to be respectful to her husband. She never fails to acknowledge him at every turn, and they attend most events together.
Of course, this list would be incomplete without mentioning Annie Idibia and her husband, 2face.
Their story reads like a romance novel. 2face met Annie when he was yet to hit stardom and money. Along the line 2face put two different women in the family way five times.
Some days ago, a picture of one of 2face’s baby mamas, Pero Adeniyi, kissing the ‘Nfana Ibaga’ crooner in his Rumours Club went viral online even as there were rumours that 2face and Annie were having problems in their marriage.
However, husband and wife have dismissed the claim, insisting that their marriage is still as strong as ever. Annie said her focus for this year is on God and her family so she wouldn’t be bothered about distractions, while 2face maintained that he would always love Annie till he dies.
In an industry littered with the carcasses of many failed marriages, it is only fitting that one gives kudos to those who didn’t take the easy way out, but rather invested in building their homes and future.
