Veteran actor, Olu Jacobs has described as wrong insinuations in some quarters that he snatched his wife of many years, Joke Silva, from a rival
The actor, who is regarded as one of the best in Nigerian film and theatre, made this known in an interview with Saturday Sun.
Responding to a question on whether the ‘snatching’ rumours were true, the septuagenarian said, “That is very wrong. I was invited to come and do a play in Nigeria by the National Theatre. I was living in England at that time. I was to play lead in Wole Soyinka’s The Trials of Brother Jero. We were having the production when the door opened and this lady walked in and said sorry, we are ready. When she walked in, ‘I said excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, this is the lady I am going to marry.’ You know bodies can attract and bodies can repel. I saw her and I was attracted. I am not an impulsive person. I did not just say come. I had to struggle to get her. She was stunned even though she gave me up and down. (laughter).
The couple has been married since 1989, a union that has produced children.
Meanwhile, Olu Jacobs disagreed with the widely-held belief that a male and female actor cannot have a lasting marriage.
Olu Jacobs noted that divorce was not unique to the acting profession, adding that people tend to know more about actors’ failed marriages because they are in the public eye by virtue of their profession.
While dispelling the belief that actors don’t make good homes, he said, “No, quite frankly, let me tell you what. I don’t encourage people to think that way. It is virtually in all professions, in all offices wherever you have women and men together. Even if you don’t hear it, we have a lot of divorces in all other sectors. For the fact that you don’t hear it in other sectors like banking or in the oil sector, as oily as it is, does not mean it is not happening. It is in all offices where we have men and women.”
He identified tenderness, patience, grace of God and friendship as the secrets to a successful marriage.
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