Actress Toyosi Adesanya’s Marriage Intact Says, “My husband is doing his best and so am I”

 

Toyosi and hubby, Dele

The rumour mill went agog lately with the news that Nollywood actress Toyosi Adesanya’s marriage to Dele Ileyemi has hit the rocks.

But the actress cum producer was seen last Monday boarding a flight to the United Arab Emirate with her husband, Dele.

  

Then pictures of the couple shopping in Dubai were seen on social media.

Dele Ileyemi, is a businessman who shuttles between Dubai and Nigeria. The smiles on the couple’s faces as they shopped said it all—the union is intact.

Toyosi

 In an interview Toyosi had with the Nation newspaper sometimes back, she not only talked about her husband but what has kept her marriage intact for over ten years.

Despite the rise in divorce rates in celebrity marriages, Toyosi revealed her staying power in the institution:

“Marriage is not an easy task. I will be truthful about that aspect of our lives. I have been married for the past nine years and I shuttle between Akure and wherever my job takes me to. I don’t want to say anything against those who have problems in their marriages. That is why I keep on saying to anybody who cares to listen that being married is not an easy task, especially when you are a celebrity.

“Some people, especially acting couples, cannot cope with their marriages today. But I don’t have anything to say about actors who cannot sustain their marriages. I would rather say that if you have God and forego so many things, things will work out fine. It is not easy for celebrities to stay married. We have so many broken marriages out there, but we are known because we are in the public eyes. People insinuate so many things about us because we are known faces. But I will tell you that it is not easy to be married and be an entertainer, especially in the movie- making world.”

Toyosi and Dele

A very close pal of actress Fathia Balogun whose marriage to Saheed Balogun has crashed irretrievably, Toyosi was asked if external influence would not cause a rift in her marriage. Her reply:

“That is not true. It is a fallacy. I have a friend, who is like a sister, in the movie world. She has stood by me all through. She always advises me never to leave my marriage. When she got married to Saheed Balogun, in August 2000, I was there with Bimbo Oshin and the likes. I will tell you that she loved her marriage wholeheartedly, but one thing led to another and then the crisis. But I don’t want to say it is anybody’s fault. I would rather tell you that I keep a friend who supports my marriage, despite the fact that hers didn’t work out. I had an issue with my husband like three years ago, but it was Fathia who told me not move out of my marriage, come rain or sunshine.

“So, I don’t keep bad friends. Men out there come to jeopardise our efforts by dating us and running away. You cannot see any of us, the females in the Nollywood Yoruba, who is not ready to settle down. Some of us are in our marital homes and managing to sustain them. Do you know the meaning of managing in a marriage? It means whether we see or not, we still stay in. It was about five of us who got married in 2007: Moji Olaiya, Doris Simeon, Laide Bakare, one other person and me. I know what kept everyone going and what made them leave too. Moji Olaiya was trying to make ends meet in that marriage. So, maybe she could not cope anymore when she opted out.”

How come hers is the only marriage standing?

“That is why I said perseverance and endurance matter a lot in any marriage or relationship. There is no woman who is celebrating 20 years of marital life and who has not gone through challenges. So, if I want to say anything about my marriage, I will rather keep mute and say that my husband is doing his best and so am I. Remember there is no paragon of perfection. I got married to an Akure man and I had to learn all their ethics.”