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 Norbertâs family never questioned them about having children, her own family frequently brought it up.
âI was childless for seven years. However, it was a challenge more for me but it was not for him,â she said.
âHe 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.â
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.
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He emphasized that their struggle with childlessness never threatened their marriage. He said:
âI didnât 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.
âHer husband did not tell her to leave and that child today is a medical doctor. The childlessness didnât threaten our union at all. You see, because I kept telling her, âWhat are you worried about? What is it? Be calming down.â
Gloria said:
âHe never did. But I was the one feeling it, and I was the one seeing things. And he was the one telling me, âWhat is it? Stop worrying about such things.ââ
Norbert confirmed her anxiety, saying,
âShe was anxious about itâbeing childless for that long. Like I said, it wasnât a challenge for me, but it was for her. As a couple, it was challenging, but personally, I didnât see it that way.â
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.
âI would go to my own family gatherings, and not asking per se, but imagine youâre walking into the room, and one aunty looks at youâmakes sure that you know sheâs looking at youâthen her eyes go down to your stomach.
âAnd as you walk away, her eyes are still there. What is she telling you? Like, âHow far na? E don tey oh! E don pass one, two, threeâŠâ Without saying a word. Oh, I had that kind of auntie.â
The lovebirds tied the knot in April, 2002 and the union is blessed with a daughter.