Captain Matthew Ekeinde has been married to star actress Omotola Jalade Ekeinde for almost fourteen years. He spoke to Sunday Sun about their marriage...
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How long have you been together?
This year marks our 14th year.
How have you been coping for 14 years with a celebrity?
First of all, I think it is God , because a few people have asked me that question and I have searched over the years and I’ve come to know that if she was not my God- given partner, I can guarantee you that we wouldn’t still be together today and that is the problem with a lot of married couples especially the pilot and the entertainer. If you want to compare those marriages that are not God approved, you’ll see that they don’t last a year talk less of 14 years. So, if I’m opportune to preach to singles, I will tell them to wait for their God-given partner because if they don’t wait, they’ll always fall apart. She (Omotola) is my God -given partner and that is why we both can tolerate each other and be patient with one another.
Some people say to build a working marriage, you should play the fool or you need to be a fool. Sometimes, do you play the fool?
No, because I think we are open and honest with one another. I get the feeling that my wife travels much more than I do and I’ve never had to fear whether she is cheating on me or something. I trust her with the whole of my heart, 100%. So, I don’t play the fool, there is no need for it. I believe I am straight forward with her and I believe she’s straight forward with me.
Can you tell us about your love story so far?
Our love story so far has been great though it’s been quite challenging. Challenges especially from the press about things they write about her but like the bible says, those who know their God shall never be shaken like Mount Zion. So, for me, I know my wife and my wife knows me and like I said earlier, I trust her with everything I am. When these issues come up, we talk about it and we move on. Our love story so far has been good and I know a lot of people look up to us. So even when we don’t have any other reasons, we’ll stay together because of the people that look up to us.
How did you meet her and how did the loving start?
I met her in church. My immediate elder sister introduced us because I was ready to get married. Then my sister said, there is this cute girl in my church, although, she is a bit young. Tola, was just sixteen (16) and I was twenty-six (26). So, she invited me to their Wednesday service. I got there from work around 7:30pm when the service was up and I met her there. We were friends until she turned eighteen (18), but I have always liked her but I wasn’t really interested because of her age. When she turned eighteen, I saw her from another perspective and that was when I told her I was going to marry her. At first, she thought I was joking, so I went behind her back and told her mom because during our two years of friendship, I have known her mom very well.
So, you went to church looking for a wife?
(Laughs) No. I didn’t go to church to hunt for a wife, I went to church to meet Tola because my sister wanted to introduce her to me. So, I didn’t go to church hunting for a wife, rather, I went to church to meet Tola. To me, hunting for a wife means, to scan all the women in the church and finally pick one. I didn’t do that, I was only there to meet her.
Why did you decide to get married in the air?Oh, excellent; that was my idea. I told her and she complied. We’ve always wanted to do something different and in the uncommon way. If you’ll remember, I was the first to start using a personalized plate number and she was the first in the industry when I bought her a brand new car .The number plate was ‘OMOTOLA1’. A few months after I bought her the car , Saint Obi bought the same car and used ‘SAINT’ as his plate number. I like to do my things in a unique way; I mean, everybody goes to church to get married, let’s do ours differently. Luckily for me, I was able to convince the MD of the Israeli airline (Sky Line) that I was working for then and I told him that it would be a marketing medium for airlines because I know newspapers and television will cover it. So, we got married because we wanted to do something different.
There is this tendency for one to be married and the love fades, when you get to that stage, what do you do to renew your love?
The good thing about it is that it is God’s doing. Don’t forget that it is not your doing that makes a marriage work. You do 10% and God does the rest because if you are married to your God-given partner, there’s nothing that can break you two up, nothing. Not only that, you need to be strong in the Lord as well. There are a lot of people that have gotten their God-given partner but they have allowed the devil to come in to scatter it. So, spiritually, it is God that is renewing it. Of course, there are times I don’t feel like I am 100 percent in love, but it happens once in a blue moon and for just few minutes. I mean there are times I see her maybe after taking her bath and I still get turned on and she’ll say ‘oh boy, you no dey tire? After fourteen years your blood is still pumping’ (Laughs). For me, I am not tired at all and the good thing is that she keeps her figure and that was why I gave her the nickname because the first car I bought her was ‘OMOTOLA1’, the second was ‘OMOT’ and third one, which is the Jeep, is ‘OMOSEXY’ because she has got this sexy figure that is a turn-on for me.
Has sex actually become boring for you and your wife?
If I tell you this you may not believe but God is my witness, 14 years on sex with my wife is not boring, you can understand why I could dig deep to give her that name omosexy. When you find something sexy can you be tired of it? You see the same appetite a man has to look for different women because they are bored with one, is the same appetite I use in looking at her all the time . That is why I gave her that name and like I said she has managed to keep her figure even after four children …she is looking more gorgeous. That is the truth my brother.
Has money been an issue before because your wife once said that romance without finance is not sweet, what’s your take?
Well, she can say that now because I am there buying her all the cars. (Laughs) If I didn’t have the money to buy her a thing, I don’t know what would have happened; but then, she’s a well brought up child; there is no woman that doesn’t like to be pampered, there is no woman that doesn’t like money, there is no woman that wants to suffer; but I thank God that we are both independent. In fact, it is one of those things we’ve never argued about from day one. Sometimes, when we talk about it, I call her attention and say, ‘OMOT’; you know we have never argued about money? The reason is simple, my salary and my allowances as a captain is paid into an account that she has access to and her money is also paid into that account. So, what we do is that, whatever project we have, either to build a house or buy a car, travel abroad and stuffs like that, we’ll put it in our monthly budget and if the money we have in the bank is not enough to cover to budget, we sit down and sort out things we can eliminate or carry over till next month. So, we do it together and that is one reason why we have never quarrelled over money matter. We are open to each other, we know how much we have and then we do things together and that is where some people have problem.
Do you maintain a joint account?Yes. All our joint accounts and current accounts, our shares, our house, our cars bear our names, Matthew and Omotola Ekehinde.Yes because we have learnt and by God’s grace, we watch T.V. programmes and we hear what’s happening. It has been in my upbringing because if you are open from day one, there is nothing that can bring you back.
Do you foresee anything breaking your marriage?
Only God can and I am sure He won’t because the Bible says “what the Lord has joined together, no man should put asunder” I trust my wife to the extent that, even if she’s in bed with a man, naked, nothing can happen. (Chuckles)
What is your advice for married couples?
Well, the first advice I have for them is that, they should stick to the Lord; they should continue to have the fear of God in them. God will show you how to treat your spouse, how you guys can live in harmony, how you can raise your kids, how to relate with your relatives. So, the first thing any person that wants to get married should do, is to seek the face of God because marriage is a life-long thing. So if they can observe a three- day fasting and prayer session and have their Pastors pray with them they will succeed. Once they can pray and God gives them the go-ahead they should proceed. Also, they both need to be disciplined because the devil is always at work, they must learn to resist temptation.
