For Daniel Adenimokan, being married to Nollywood star actress, Doris Simon, is a pleasant burden he has learnt to carry off, easily and smoothly. Unlike Omotola’s husband who is a pilot, Danny boy is a Nollywood director, who has worked with his wife on a number of projects. He tells us, in this interview, how he has been coping with the challenges of being married to a Nollywood wife. Excerpts…
Do you always work with your wife?
Quite often I travel and she would stay back – engaged in her own projects. Most times though, we get stuck on the same projects. I guess this has helped to cement our relationship.
You are married to an actress. Being a director yourself, what challenges do you face as parents and couple?
It doesn’t change anything! Angelina Jolie has seven or eight children and she is raising them as a mother. My wife is the best mother you can think of on this planet. We are not on location 24/7. We have time for our son. What you are implying is that filmmakers can’t have time to raise their kids. That is not right.
Do you have any fears about breaking up?
People make a big deal out of nothing. It is no big deal being married to an actress. If I get my wife pregnant, it is nobody’s business. The more we keep our marital life to ourselves the better for us. Look at Olu Jacobs and Joke Silva, who have been together for God knows how long. You think they don’t have troubles or quarrels? They do, but they have remained together.
Why do you think marriages break up?
I think the only thing that would make marriage work is God. Secondly, it takes a lot of communication and understanding. If the couple has a practice of talking about everything and there is a quarrel happens, then it would be a lot easier to solve. Even if my wife and I quarrel at least twice a day, we still resolve it. However, there are levels of quarrels.
And if one party is hurt, I think the other person should be able to say ‘I’m sorry’, and I believe this will help the marriage work. On the other hand, in an industry like ours, what can kill a marriage is competition between the couple. If the wife is concerned about her career moving faster than that of her husband or the husband feels bad because his wife’s career is moving faster than his, then there will be problem. If my wife is the person that people want to see, it is my duty to push and support her. I will be the one working behind the stage to make it possible for her and if I am doing a project, she’ll also support.
Does your wife’s past bother you?
The truth of the matter is this: who knows the number of people I dated before I met my wife. Every human being has a past. The earlier you get away from your past and move forward, the better for you. When you think of such things, you will remain in the same position.
