Nollywood actress Regina Chukwu has shared a deeply personal story about losing her husband to tuberculosis just three years into their marriage.
In an interview with her colleague, Biola Bayo, Chukwu recounted how she met her late husband, an indigene of Anambra State, shortly after finishing secondary school.
She was in her early 20s and still a student when they got married.
Growing up in the Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos, she said her husband’s health began to deteriorate after sustaining internal injuries from a past accident, which eventually led to tuberculosis.
According to the 45-year-old actress, the illness intensified shortly after the birth of their second child. In a desperate bid to save him, she traveled with him to his hometown, where he was treated at a local health center.
Chukwu revealed that during his final days, the pain became so unbearable that he pleaded with her to administer a “death injection.”
Despite the family’s efforts, her husband died at the age of 28. Recalling the harrowing moment, she said, “…I saw practically my father-in-law dragging him. He was dragging him with his two hands. He just said, ‘he is dead’. I was furious. I woke up the next day because I had fainted. I could not say goodbye to him. He was already buried. So, when we finished the burial and everything, his sister said, there is no need for me to return to Lagos. They would rent an apartment or start a business for me in Enugu city.”
Chukwu also opened up about the cultural implications of her late husband’s family tradition, which stipulates that unless her bride price is returned, she remains their wife. She revealed that this custom led to her first child being taken from her.
“As you see today, I’m still their wife. Ah. Yes, I am not divorced,” she said.
“I’m still their wife. I didn’t get a divorce. If I get a divorce, and if I have a husband and he returns their dowry, then I am no longer a wife there.
As you see today, God forbid, if anything happens to me. So that’s the tradition.”
Regina Chukwu has featured in several Nollywood films including Okomi Ale Mi, Encounter, Setemi, Akun, Awolu at Awalu, Ewatomi, Idaho, and Ogunso. In 2022, she revealed her readiness to start dating again, years after the loss of her husband.
