The Singing Celebrity Couple, Tunde And Wunmi Obe- T.W.O Celebrates Milestones
It is always a joyful feeling witness successful celebrity marriages. One of such few celebrity marriage is that of Tunde and Wunmi Obe, popularly referred to as T.W.O.
Tunde and Wunmi Obe have kept their love and marriage going for two decades now and still counting. They are also musical partners – two halves of T.W.O.
They met in 1988, dated for 10 years before tying the knot in 1998, and they have been going strong ever since.
It is a season of multiple celebrations for the musical couple. While Tunde has attained the golden age of 50, their band that has become a point of positive reference and a source of inspiration to many people is 30-year-old.
In a recent chat, the singing couple spoke on their plans to celebrate Tunde’s 50th birthday, 30th anniversary of T. W. O. and the 20th anniversary of their marriage.
To triple the treat, Tunde and Wunmi’s marriage is 20-year-old and some days. The duo are therefore in high spirits and are poised to mark the milestones in a beautiful way.
At a briefing held on Wednesday at Protea Hotel in Lagos, to kick off the 30th anniversary, Tunde told PUNCH that turning 50 was a remarkable achievement to him as he surged through life’s hurdles.
“At a time where people are not really living long in Nigeria, turning 50 is a big deal to me. My father died when he was 46 while Wunmi’s father died at 49. So, I’ve outlived both our parents and, for me, that’s a major thing,” Tunde added.
On how they have managed their family and music career, he said,
”Family comes first and I’ll gladly drop music if I had to choose. However, I’ve been able to combine everything and its working well.
I’m glad I’m still here and, as for the 30 years of T.W.O, in every relationship, there will be ups and downs, but I want to assure you that Wunmi and I have never put separation or divorce on the table. It is not something we’ll ever discuss.”
He noted that their successful union proves those who would not give celebrity marriages any chance wrong. Besides, he explained that the problems that many marriages experienced were not limited to the world of celebrities.
“I do not think it’s only in the entertainment world. There’s something in the country that is making everyone to be so much in a hurry and nobody wants to grow with another person anymore.
The expectations are too high and people are living fake lives on social media, posting things that are not real, thereby raising people’s expectations when they come across such things.
For a relationship to work, people have to be straightforward and set their expectations in a realistic manner. Not everything has to be in place before you marry someone; everyone is working to achieve a goal.
When we started, it was a struggle, but we had our eye on the prize and achieved the goals together. I’m not sure if I were already a self-made man, things would have worked out well between us,” Tunde said.
Wunmi, on her part said,
“If you are doing the same thing as your partner it’s easier. He understands when I’m not doing certain things and when I have to do certain things. In the beginning, when the children were very young, it was a little bit challenging because, sometimes, I would have to take a child I was breastfeeding to the studio.”
The Manager of T.W.O, Don T Anifite, said the programmes of the anniversaries were designed and organised in accordance with the premium quality standard of stakeholders that had come to associate with T.W.O.
“The brand has a special valid proposition for all sponsors, because it offers two viable brands for the price of one. The couple met 30 years ago and the relationship blossomed from professionalism to partnership, then marriage, which was certified 20 years ago.
Between 30 years and now, a couple of albums have been released; many hits have been created thus far and the new phase we are entering would give us the opportunity to experience greater music,” he added.
The couple are proud parents to three adorable kids, Modesayo, Ricardo and Andrew Obe.