Talented Nollywood actress, Ngozi Nwosu has opened up about physical violence in her marriage, describing harrowing incidents during an appearance on the Real Life with Aunty Ayo podcast.
“I don’t believe that marriage is a do or die affair. People will go on social and put pictures of ‘he slapped me, he did this, he did that.’ My dear, if you see correct beating (laughs hard) correct panel beating, you won’t even remember social media and start struggling for your life,” Nwosu told host Aunty Ayo.
Recounting a violent episode, the actress said a dispute escalated after she told her husband she did not want to quarrel that day. “He asked me a question and I said ’why, Tunde please today is not the day of quarrel. I went to the kitchen to boil water, he just broke the kitchen door… I will never forget that day.” Nwosu added that as the altercation intensified she suffered a pulled strand of hair that drew blood.
She described a moment of desperate self-defense, saying she armed herself with a pestle and struck the door in a bid to stop the attack. “I was ready to kill him that day, that I don’t mind going to jail, I picked the pestle and threw it to the door, the thing pierced through the door and he dodged. I was vibrating. My neighbours saw me naked,” she said.
Nwosu urged people to recognise limits in abusive relationships: “When this thing is too much, ọmọ, you’ve got to move. If you take it once, forget it, you must be ready to take it for the rest of your life.”
Her frank testimony adds to ongoing conversations in Nigeria’s entertainment circles about domestic violence, resilience and the difficult choices survivors face.