Interviews | 10 July 2016 11:10 CET

Girlfriend nearly stopped me from marrying my wife—Ugezu, Nollywood actor

By The Citizen

Nollywood director cum actor, Ugezu Jideofor Ugezu, aka Mr Surplus, is more known as a grandmaster in the occult world as portrayed in his movies. But besides his make-believe roles in movies, he's the best thing that ever happened to his wife, Peace.

In their 10 years of marriage, the couple have come to understand that they cannot live without each other. In this encounter, Ugezu reveals how he would have married his ex-girlfriend if she didn't travel outside the country, just as the wife explains why she fell in love with him.

How we met
I met her in my village, Aguleri, Anambra State. She's a sister to my elder brother's wife. She was always visiting our village whenever she was on holidays. She was a student at University of Nigeria, Nsukka then. I saw her and developed interest in her.

Love at first sight
I don't want to identify myself with this thing they call love, because 'love ' is a word that has a lot of complexities. But you will know when you see a woman that you can spend the rest of your life with. Love is a thing that evolves with time.

What convinced me
I had been observing her for some time before I finally made up my mind to marry her. She was surprised when I proposed to her because she wasn't expecting it. Each time I came home from Lagos, she would come around and I was always observing her behaviour.

Dating
I didn't date her. We exchanged telephone numbers and began to talk on phone. But there was nothing like intimate relationship between us. That was why she was surprised when I told her I was going to marry her. I didn't give her the impression that I was going to spend the rest of my life with her.

Don't believe in relationship
Before I met her, I was into a lot of relationships. I had a girlfriend in Zaria.  I was planning to marry her before she won visa lottery and relocated to America. I lost contact with her and that was what prevented me from marrying her. I was in a relationship and I was thinking of settling down with her before she travelled out of the country.

Finding a wife in Nollywood
If I was not married before now, I would have definitely married an actress. But the issue is that I was already thinking of settling down before I was invited by one of the foremost directors, Mac Collins Chidubem, aka China, to come and write a screenplay for him. After writing that script, I never went back to my car dealing business in Lagos. I didn't plan to be part of Nollywood from the outset.

Sex before marriage
If I had the opportunity, why not? Am I not a man? I am not a monk. However, the opportunity didn't present itself, but eventually, it happened.

Fear of losing him to Nollywood actresses
Definitely, she will entertain fear of losing her husband to other women. But you will always tell that there is a great different between appearance and reality. In the course of our job, most of these actresses see us as being part of them. Sometimes, an A-list actress would call me on the telephone when I am with her, and she would engage me in all kinds of discussions. My wife would be listening to our discussion. But it doesn't change the fact that she is still the wife. And she knows that no matter what happens, I belong to her. - Culled from Vanguard.

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