Yoruba Nollywood actress Olabisi Akingbade has openly shared the reasons behind her decision to leave her first marriage.
In an interview with Wasilacoded, Akingbade revealed that her husband’s dissatisfaction with her career choices and social media presence contributed to their separation.
Despite her commitment to the film industry, she made numerous sacrifices to sustain her marriage. She deliberately declined certain acting roles, particularly lead roles that required long hours on set or overnight stays away from home, all in an effort to accommodate her husband’s concerns.
To strike a balance between her career and marriage, Akingbade ventured into trading, selling products online while leveraging her celebrity status for promotion. However, despite these compromises, her husband remained displeased, frequently expressing frustration over her social media activity.
In her words; “Despite being in the film industry, there are certain roles I usually reject just to please my husband, especially lead roles that require spending a lot of time on set. These roles often involve sleeping over or spending several days away from my matrimonial home, and my husband is not comfortable with that. As a result, I combined acting with trading. With my popularity, I tried to sell products online, using my status as a celebrity to promote them. However, despite my efforts to please my husband by limiting the type of roles I accept so I can stay at home and focus on my business, he was still not happy. He often got upset about me promoting myself and my face on social media.”
The actress further noted that the money she earned from acting and trading was mostly spent on her family, yet her husband remained unsatisfied. The emotional strain of the marriage began to take a toll on her mental well-being and career, leaving her with no choice but to walk away.
She added; “The most painful part is that most of the money I make is not for my personal use—I spend it on my family and household expenses. Yet, he remains unhappy, and this has taken an emotional toll on me and affected my career. Since I cannot risk losing my career and also suffering emotionally, I decided to leave the marriage for the sake of my peace of mind.”
Watch interview below