Celebrity Couple, Norbert And Gloria Young Open Up On 7-Year Struggle With Childlessness
Veteran Nollywood actors, Norbert and Gloria Young have shared their experience of how they struggled and handled their childlessness for seven years.
Speaking in an interview on Love Notes with Tope, Gloria opened up about the emotional toll it took on her and her husband as a young couple, while Norbert revealed that he never saw it as a challenge.
According to Gloria, Norbert remained calm and often reassured her all through the period. She explained that she felt the weight of the situation more deeply due to external pressures and personal anxieties.
Gloria also said while Norbert’s family never questioned them about having children, her own family frequently brought it up.
“I was childless for seven years. However, it was a challenge more for me but it was not for him,” she said.
“He kept asking me why I was worried but I was the one feeling it more and seeing things. However, nobody in his family ever asked about it but they did in my family.”
Also speaking, Norbert said he was not bothered by the situation as he recalled how his sister faced a similar situation, waiting 16 years for a child, and praised her husband for standing by her.
SEE ALSO: Gloria Young Celebrates 50th Birthday & 25th Anniversary in Nollywood
He emphasized that their struggle with childlessness never threatened their marriage. He said:
“I didn’t see it as a challenge. How can I see it as a challenge? I had a sister who was married for 16 years without a child, and on the 17th year, she had a child.
“Her husband did not tell her to leave and that child today is a medical doctor. The childlessness didn’t threaten our union at all. You see, because I kept telling her, ‘What are you worried about? What is it? Be calming down.”
Gloria said:
“He never did. But I was the one feeling it, and I was the one seeing things. And he was the one telling me, ‘What is it? Stop worrying about such things.’”
Norbert confirmed her anxiety, saying,
“She was anxious about it—being childless for that long. Like I said, it wasn’t a challenge for me, but it was for her. As a couple, it was challenging, but personally, I didn’t see it that way.”
Gloria, however, shared her anxiety and the societal pressure she faced, particularly from relatives who would stare at her stomach during family gatherings, silently inquiring about her childlessness.
“I would go to my own family gatherings, and not asking per se, but imagine you’re walking into the room, and one aunty looks at you—makes sure that you know she’s looking at you—then her eyes go down to your stomach.
“And as you walk away, her eyes are still there. What is she telling you? Like, ‘How far na? E don tey oh! E don pass one, two, three…’ Without saying a word. Oh, I had that kind of auntie.”
The lovebirds tied the knot in April, 2002 and the union is blessed with a daughter.