“I Don’t Pay Attention To Women Who Have Their Eyes On My Husband”

 Teju Baby Face Oyelakin and Tobi got engaged on a Valentine’s Day. They got married September 1, 2012. They revealed their marital success secret in this interview

Can you recollect the first time you met?

Tobi: We had met several times but what I would describe as our first official meeting was an audition.

Teju: It was at an audition and she was one of the models who came around that day. We really don’t know who saw who first because she did not look at me throughout that day. She studiously ignored me.

Tobi: As a professional, I don’t believe in peering at faces when I get into a room. I was at the venue for a purpose and I think that was paramount on my mind.

What were the first words you said to her?

Teju: She came in to be auditioned and I was one of the judges. We offered her money and she turned it down but not without letting us know it was meagre. She left with an attitude that said, ‘keep your money.’ I thought she was cocky even though I picked an interest in her. I ran into her two weeks after that episode at an event where she was ushering and she told me point-blank she would not have a conversation with me because she was on duty.

When did you decide to hear him out?

Tobi: We met somewhere again where I just finished work as a make-up artist. He walked up to me and asked if I had a boyfriend and I answered in the affirmative. He quoted the scriptures! That came as a surprise to me because before then, some of my friends described him as cocky. That was one of the reasons I was not forthcoming.

Why qualities of hers ensured you did not abandon the chase?

Teju: I like good-looking women. She seemed industrious and I was never able to talk to her for long because she was always on the move. As a Christian, you have to understand that there are certain things that are put in motion for you and your destiny.

When you met her, were you looking at her as a girlfriend or wife?

Teju: The first time was as a girlfriend. The second time we met, she was nicer to me and I had come closer to getting married.

For how long did you court?

Teju: It’s a chequered story. Initially, we dated for about three to four months and then we broke up when it did not work out. This was because at that point in time, I was going through a period in my life where I was impatient and exerting in my attitude.  This was a period in our lives where we had just gotten out of relationships.  It was a season when I needed to find a wife and my eyes were in several places and she was not patient enough to understand that. We broke up and a year and a half later, we reconnected. It was then we now dated for a year.

Who initiated the comeback?

Teju: I was in the kitchen with somebody else who I was considering dating, when she called me. She just called to say hi and she said the next day was her mother’s birthday. Because I was really interested in her, I went to their house to wish her mum a happy birthday and we just clicked from there and I took no notice of any other person. It was that phone call that convinced me she was the one because it came at an auspicious time.

How did you know you were going to marry her?

Teju: She is the only woman I have dated, who, when she came to my house, never tried to get my attention away from whatever I was doing. If I was watching football or reading a book, she left me alone to do so while she went about doing other things. She never for once complained I was using her to do other things. That I found fantastic.

How have you been able to scale through the early days of marriage?

Teju: One of the reasons we have been able to survive the troubles associated with the early years of marriage is that eight times out of 10, my wife says sorry without stopping to think who is at fault. She is not a contentious woman.

How do you deal with the pressures of being married to a man in the limelight?

Tobi: Pressures? I don’t pay attention to such things including women who have their eyes on my husband. The moment you start doing so, then you begin to pay less attention to your home.

COURTESY: SUNDAY PUNCH