In 1996, a young Nigerian actress married an airline pilot. She was 18. Her fame was still ahead of her.
Omotola Jalade was born in Lagos in 1978. She began acting in the mid-1990s and soon became one of Nollywood’s biggest stars, known as Omosexy to her fans. Her husband, Captain Matthew Ekeinde, is a pilot. They married when she was still at the start of her career.
Fame and family
Omotola’s career took off in the late 1990s and 2000s with hundreds of films in English and Yoruba. She also released music, became a United Nations and World Food Programme ambassador, and in 2013 was named by Time magazine among the 100 most influential people in the world, the first Nollywood actress on the list.
Through all of it, she and her husband raised four children. The couple mostly kept their marriage out of the headlines, a rare achievement in an industry where celebrity marriages are front-page news.
Lessons couples take from them
Marry the person, not the fame. Omotola married before her fame. Her husband had his own career and identity, which reduced competition and pressure.
Keep some things private. The couple shared anniversaries and family moments on social media, but they did not turn their marriage into a public show.
Grow together. Marrying young means changing a great deal over the years. Couples who last are those who make room for each other’s growth.
Support each other’s work. A pilot’s schedule and an actress’s filming schedule are both demanding. Supporting each other’s ambitions, rather than competing, helps a marriage survive busy seasons.
Talk about money. When one partner becomes famous and the income changes, open conversations about finances prevent resentment. Agreeing early on who pays for what, and how savings are managed, keeps money from becoming a weapon later.
Public anniversaries
Omotola regularly marks her wedding anniversary with messages to her husband, and fans treat the posts as proof that long marriages are possible in the entertainment world.
A different picture
Nollywood marriages are often in the news for the wrong reasons: separations, public quarrels and social media accusations. Omotola’s marriage offers a quieter story.
She married at 18, before most of her admirers knew her name. Almost thirty years later, the pilot is still the man she thanks first.
