"My pastor told me to never lie to my husband"

wemi esho

April 2, 2015 8:22 AM

Actress and married mother of two opens up on keeping her marriage intact despite the fact that she is a celebrity actress.

Mercy Johnson and husband Odi Okojie

Popular Nollywood actress Mercy Johnson Okojie has been married for a little more than 3 years and she believes that her being a celebrity actress will not hinder her from having a successful marriage.

In an interview with Leadership Nigeria on March 29, 2015 she opens up about building a strong foundation for her marriage to last on.

Mercy Johnson began by dispelling the notion that actresses don't make good wives.

"One of the biggest lies anyone can tell himself/herself is using one or more random experiences to judge and stereotype others. I have two children for my husband today and he has not stopped talking about how down-to-earth I was yet I am an actress; not just any actresses. I had a large following at that time yet I did not go around pouting my lips or playing the snub."

"My husband later confessed to me that for him, it was love at first sight but that did not stop him from asking me to cook for him the first day I set foot in his house. At first, I was stunned that a Nigerian man was asking me to enter his kitchen to cook him a meal. A part of me whispered to me that perhaps, he was not aware of who I was and when I said to him: ‘You must be joking. My name is Mercy Johnson’. What shocked me even more was his response when he said: ‘I know’. Rather than take offence, I was drawn closer to him"

"We have been married since 2011 and we love each other to bits till date and have consciously decided to spend the rest of our lives together. As I said earlier, I am an actress who is correcting the rigid stand that actresses cannot have happy homes when they get married. Also, bear in mind that there are several Nigerian actresses like me who are happily married. Having a happy marriage is a choice a woman has to make. When you decide to have a happy marriage, you focus your thoughts, actions, words, work and everything else around protecting that happiness."

"In marriage, you must have trust and you must also have love. The moment you lose these two, then it is just a matter of time before you embark on a calamitous countdown towards the end of your marriage. My relationship with my husband has been very special. He is not just my husband or father of my children. He is my friend."

During the interview she attributed the strength of her marriage to the words of her pastor which were to never lie to her husband and to tell the truth to each other regardless of how painful or scary it might be.

Mercy Johnson and her husband Prince Odianosen Okojie have 2 children together, a daughter Purity and a son Henry. The pair would have been married for 4 years on August 27, 2015.

wemi esho