Saturday, November 19, 2011 Nollywood's cursed marriages: Kate Henshaw joins the list

If marriage is a diamond, then for majority of Nigerian actresses, finding that diamond is akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. Even among the lucky ones, many have discovered to their dismay that ‘‘diamonds are not forever”.
This poignant reality was recently reinforced by the shocking news that the marriage of Kate Henshaw-Nuttal, one of Nollywood’s top actresses, has hit the rocks. The Rivers of Tears actress, who turned 40 in July, called it quits with her 12-year old marriage to her British husband, Roderick James Nuttal. She told EE: “I have no comment on the issue. I have my daughter to think about.” The out-of-love couple is silently swotting in the background to effect a rancour-free and publicity-devoid divorce. For friends and fans of the star actress, and general observers of the Nigerian film industry, this latest development is sad and shocking.
What made the separation so repugnant is the fact that Kate Henshaw’s union used to be regarded as one of the few “working marriages” in the industry.

With the sad development, observers of the Nigerian film industry can’t shy away from the big question: Why is marriage such a cross for Nollywood stars? Earlier in August, another A-List actress, Mercy Johnson, got married under unwholesome circumstances that generated a deafening media noise.
Is marital failure in the movie industry such a big deal? After all, here and there, a slew of marital misadventures litter the corridors of Nollywood. However, when the facts and figures, the personas and personalities involved, are properly distilled, the disturbing result would make one jump to the conclusion that a ‘star marriage’ is jinxed. All it takes is a browse through the ‘Black Book’ of Nollywood marriages, to discover that not less than 25 top actresses had waded through the ‘marital swamp’ and came out divorced or separated.

Many reasons, one result
If every actress concerned were to narrate “My Failed Marriage Story,” the slants of individual experience will vary. Some unions were dissolved on the altar of infidelity. Eucharia Anunobi (Glamour Girls II) claimed she caught her husband and their housemaid on the couple’s matrimonial bed in a compromising position. The Face of a Liar star, Stella Damasus, in a reverse order was shown the red card by her 10-month-old second husband on an alleged sins of promiscuity, notably, a particular romp in London which was uncovered by a Lagos-based tabloid.
Other actresses were casualties of Runaway Husbands Syndrome (RHS). Representatives of this category include: Jennifer Eliogu who lost her five-year-old marriage to a Swiss lady, when her husband suddenly took a walk from their marriage. Stephnora Okere, whose ex husband, Lanre Falana wedded here in Nigeria and later abandoned for his London base without returning to their matrimonial home in Nigeria, again. Shan George, a veteran of three-crashed marriages, whose husbands No. 1 and No. 3 checked out of the union by ‘absconding’; the latter, a Nollywood producer, relocated to Germany. Oge Okoye and Chika Ike, are also top players in this category.
Other marriages were rendered asunder on account of domestic violence. Kiss and Tell actress, Monalisa Chinda is a renowned example of those inside the ‘domestic violence quadrant’. Beaten ‘blue and black’ by her hubby, she vacated her marital sanctuary in 2009 and has been living a more secured life of single parenthood.
Some actresses, who found themselves in the ‘offside position’ of the marital field, blamed the fiascos on “irreconcilable differences”; from  Fathia Balogun, (whose marriage to her second husband, fellow actor Saidi Balogun, hit the rocks in 2008) to Ayo Adesanya, (who reportedly packed out of her matrimonial home due to incompatibility and an unending battery and assault from her husband, Hassan Goriola) and Out of Bounds actress, Foluke Daramola (who jumped out of her crisis-plagued four-year-old marriage because of the trauma of domestic frictions).

The All Seasons Singles Club’
Still, the Nollywood marriage conundrum has yet another flipside: a seraglio of screen sirens stranded on the cusp between “in a relationship” and “inside a marriage” - not for lack of charms, nor for dearth of suitors. This bevy of beauties achieved fame and fortunes within our living memory. Some of them have spent a decade or more on the big screens. In a parallel world, as professionals in other fields other than acting – bankers, nurses or lawyers - they would all have been married. Every season, they remain spinsters, even though they ‘ride on chariots of blue-chip relationships’. The roll call include multiple award-winning Genevieve Nnaji, multi-talented Uche Jombo, and devil-may-care Uche Ogbodo. The trio of Rita Dominic, Funke Akindele and Benita Nzeribe also belong to the singles circle alongside Oby Edozieh. The ‘Spinster Squad’ also include famous beauties like: Lilian Bach, Bimbo Akintola, the one and only “Our Lady of Boobs”, Cossy Orjiakor. Queen of controversy, Empress Njamah, is also on the register.

The pass mark
On the balance sheet of Nollywood marriage, the credit side is lean. Marriages that are intact are few and still ‘green’ to be declared successful. Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, whose 15-year-old marriage has produced four children, is the best known example. Then, there is mother-of-three-sons Omoni Oboli. The star of the award-winning Anchor Baby has sustained her marriage for 11 years. Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha has clocked five years in her marital sojourn. Ini Edo-Ehiagwina is in her third year. Dakore Akande has just experienced 10 months of marriage. A further four or five names can be added to the list and that is about the size of it. The “working marriages” still have the hurdle of 25-year silver benchmark ahead. To become a vintage marriage, they have to beat the Olu Jacob-Joke Silva test.

Breaking the riddle jinx
Sultry star actress, StephNora Okere, a casualty of a failed marriage, in an exclusive interview with EE recently, avows: “Broken marriage is not a Nollywood thing; it’s a society thing. But it is an anomaly, because this part of the world is quick to pick up vices from the western world; it’s part of the vices Third World countries are picking from the Americas of this world.”
Ngozi Nwosu, another victim of a failed marriage, who played the character of Peace in the popular television comedy series, Fuji House of Commotion, once provided an insight based on her personal experience:  “Suddenly, I became a star and he (her husband) grew uncomfortable with it. This was the genesis of our quarrel. He wasn’t at home with the attention I was getting”.
Bukky Wright, the twice-married, twice-divorced sexy actress also sang the same tune. “Nigerian men lack confidence, especially to manage successful women”, she once asserted.
Another victim, revered thespian, Clarion Chukwura, star of the 1984 Mirror in the Sun had a poignant perspective of what she called “marriages that don’t work”. Marriage, she opined, is a fusion of two minds on the platform of joyful co-existence, and when it goes awry, she averred, “Either of the parties should walk away instead of living in misery.”

Despite the gloom-doom aura surrounding ‘star marriage’ in the film industry, actresses still hold it in high esteem.  Those who are yet to marry talk about “marriage when it is right” or “marriage with Mr. Right”. Marrying right seems to be a jinx in Nollywood.