Legendary actors, Olu Jacobs and his wife Joke Silva, need no introduction in the entertainment industry. Happily married for over three decades, the power couple are a reference to what a perfect marriage between celebrities should be.
During the week, Olu Jacobs celebrated his seventy-seventh (77th) birthday and his wife melted the hearts of many with the lovely message she sent to him on the special day.
In a recent chat with PUNCH, Mrs Jacobs was asked to identify the factors responsible for the success of their 36 years marriage and she revealed:
“It’s not as if ours is better than anybody else; just that we are in the public eye. However, it is by God’s grace to have a very good friend in the person you marry.
And we try our best, as humanly possible, to be honest with each other. This means that when one is upset with each other, one lets the other person know. It is majorly all about friendship; I really don’t know how to articulate it.”
The power couple has played onscreen lovers in several movies but one that resonates is the movie, The Royal Hibiscus Hotel, in which they couldn’t seem to get their hands off each other. When asked whether those characters bore any semblance to their real lives, the screen goddess said,
“I don’t know about being all over each other but we are very close.”
The sweet mom-of-two who recently became a grandma also noted that she and her husband never mixed business with pleasure. She added,
“Of course, there has to be a separation (between work and home). We don’t mix business with pleasure. There is a difference between our lives in movies and our lives at home. Work is fiction even though we try to pass real messages across. At home, we are faced with real life issues such as diesel in the generator, home helps, doctor’s appointments and other things.”
Sparing some advice for young entertainers, especially those who married within the industry, Silva said,
“I find it very difficult to give people advice because we all have different situations. But something that always works is patience. And as much as possible, try to be honest with each other.
However, it is honesty that is not cruel. You have to understand that there is cruel and wicked honesty, and loving honesty as well. It doesn’t mean you wouldn’t get angry, but you don’t have to cross the line of getting violent. Violence is not only physical; it can also be emotional.
However, at the end of the day, the most important factor is God. I am happy that we have weathered our storms over the years in our 36 years of marriage.
I am not sure I would have said the same thing I’m saying now 20 years ago. Perhaps, then, I could have asked his people to come and carry him and take him to wherever they wanted.”
The thespians who met in 1981 at a rehearsal and got wedded in 1985, have shown that true love lasts a lifetime – they have been a good example to many.
