By Rita Okoye

In September 11, 2021, Nollywood actor, Stanley Ebuka Nzediegwu, otherwise known as Stan Nze and his colleague, Blessing Jessica Obasi, walked down the aisle in a glamorous ceremony witnessed by family and friends. 

Many were surprised to discover that the two shared more than a working relationship due to their age difference.

However, they succeeded in keeping their romantic relationship a top secret till pictures of their pre-wedding shoot surfaced on the internet.

Stan Nze and Blessing Obasi have been an item for about five years. The couple met in the line of duty and kicked off their friendship which later blossomed into marriage.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day today, the couple shares their love story, sweetly made in Nollywood against all odds.

Stanley Nze: I’ve always known I’d marry an entertainer

What first attracted you to your wife?

The fact that we connected easily and she was somewhat like an open book. It wasn’t hard to read and see her for who she really is.

Who gave the first green light? 

We didn’t see the green light anywhere. We just saw a red light, all of us jump enter.

This is your first Valentine season as a married couple. What are your plans? 

When we were dating, we didnt celebrate because we didnt have the time,

So, the plans for Valentine as a married couple is going to be a surprise. If I say all the plans now, how will it be a surprise? The surprise will be in the ‘other’ room.

Marrying an actress, was that part of the plan from the onset?

Well, I’ve always known I’d marry an entertainer, someone in the media (radio),  music or an actor.   I just knew I was going to be with someone in the entertainment industry. I wanted someone who would understand the sort of thing I do and it wouldn’t be a challenge to understand the peculiarity of the industry in which I function. That was very important for me. 

I could have been able to marry anyone in any other industry but it would be easier for me here. 

What was your parent’s reaction to the marriage proposal?

I don’t know how they reacted because I didn’t tell them when I proposed.

Is Mr. Nze a romantic man?

Well, I try my best to be a romantic man because I know that my wife used to complain that I wasn’t romantic at all. But over the years, I’ve learned to make an effort to be romantic. I’m still not great at it, but I think I’m getting better, and there’s always room for improvement.

What are the interesting things you love about your wife?

Ilove the fact that she makes me laugh, she’s such a great cook, she has a heart for people and she’s such a lover.

What’s your greatest fear as a married man?

It will probably be complacency.  When it feels like we are no longer making an effort to be better.

I think that’s probably our fear that we never get to that point where we are so relaxed, that, we are not improving to become better versions of ourselves.

What challenges did you encounter in marrying a younger lover?

That’s a bit too personal, I would not want to talk about it.

Celebrity marriages are always surrounded by controversies, how do you intend to make yours different?

One day at a time. We are celebrities and we cannot go back to becoming any other person like a banker at this time. It is what it is. However, I know that I’ve always channeled my energy to God, I don’t have it all figured out, I’ve never been married before, but I know Someone who is the author of marriage and that is Jesus Christ. 

So, I’m depending on him to lead me every step of the way, to be a good husband to my wife, a good father to my kids, a good son to my parents, and just a better version of me as the days go by.

Now that you are a happily married man, what else do you look forward to?

I look forward to being a father, I look to having my girls, nurturing and being there for them. I also look forward to being responsible for people.

What would you advise the younger generation regarding relationships?

Do not awaken love when you are not ready. I didn’t awaken mine until I was genuinely ready to settle down. I didn’t want to be jumping into relationships just for the sake of it.

Maintain platonic relationships with people until you have come of age, and you feel ready to settle down. That is my advice, but you don’t have to listen to the stupid things I’m saying.

Blessing Nze: Age is just a number 

This is your first Valentine season as a married couple, how does it feel to be in love?

It feels really good. It feels very good to be in love. I mean, I’ve been in love before Valentine, and it’s such a good feeling being in love with someone who actually loves you too, if not more.

How do you plan to celebrate it?

It’s supposed to be a surprise but of course, I plan to make it memorable for us.

What specific qualities confirmed that Nze is the man you want to spend the rest of your life with?

Our vulnerability, the way we bonded, the friendship we shared was very unique, and he was consistent all the three and a half years we dated. He was consistent, straightforward, sweet, like literally sweet, and his yes remains a yes. He’s so truthful. 

Marrying a colleague, did you see it coming?

Absolutely not. Never. I never would have imagined that I’d get married to my colleague or even anyone in entertainment because I used to think men in entertainment cannot stay with one woman, they are cheats. I saw them as promiscuous people and so I never saw it coming at all.

Marrying a younger lover must be tough, what was it like weighing between age and love?

Age is just a number, what matters is the two hearts that beat as one.

What three things would you like to change about your husband?

Well, I’d say absolutely nothing. I’m happy with the peace that I enjoy with my husband and he is a man that strives daily to be better. I’m not aiming at changing anything, absolutely not.

Does marriage make you feel fulfilled?

Fulfilled? I won’t say fulfilled because marriage is not the end goal. So, not fulfilled but maybe to an extent but not like I’m fulfilled in life, I’ve achieved all my goals in life, no. 

This is just one level of fulfillment then the next. There’s still a fulfillment of what God wants me to do, so much more I need to do for myself, my children, the nation, and the world at large.

Maybe it is just a step in the direction of fulfilling my purpose in life.

What was the parent’s reaction to the marriage proposal?

I’m guessing they felt good about it.

How has married life changed you?

Being a lot more deliberate about my actions. For instance, I’m sometimes like, ‘you are a married woman, you can’t just stay out late, you can’t always go out and forget yourself’. If for instance I go out with my friends to the movies and we end up seeing a couple of movies late into the night because we don’t want to get home and be bored, now that I am a married woman, I can’t because I wouldn’t want to be perambulating Lagos like a homeless person.

So, I think there is a bit of sense of responsibility now but not from a place of being forced, it is just me talking to myself.

What kind of roles would you reject now that you are married? 

To be naked, I think that’s the only thing I cannot do, going naked in a film.

As a married woman, what’s your greatest fear?

When people get married, they get so comfortable. It feels like a box that has been ticked but they are not really interested in servicing it as such. You’ve ticked the box and you’ve moved on so what else?

So, I think my greatest fear will be not really nurturing my home, keeping and building my home to be that place I always want to come back to and make it a safe place for my husband.

Sometimes, you see some couples fight like enemies and you begin to question why because, they used to be in love. So, what went wrong?

Like my husband will always say, this one that this love is just doing us, hope tomorrow we would not later say ‘go to your tent O Isreal’ and I just say, ”we don’t need to work too hard to make this thing, we are already here.”

And the next thing would be motherhood, that’s what the world expects of you.

With all these fears that will come because I’m a human being, I put all my trust in God because he is our foundation, He’s our essence, He’s everything to us and no matter how tough things get, ‘las las’ I go back to Him to say, God, you are the foundation of this thing, this home and marriage was built upon the solid rock which is, you, Jesus Christ and you alone will teach and navigate this journey with me.

So, I’m taking it one day at a time asking the Holy Spirit to help me.