Matse Uwatse-Nnoli who got married to her Nigerian/German husband in a recent chat with Ynaija revealed how she met him (love story), how she had her daughter (Chimamanda) and more. She also advised single ladies on how to deal with the pressure of being forced to get married.
See excerpts below:
How has life been since you quit the radio world?
Life away from radio has been peaceful. I guess I needed being off
radio to revaluate my life. It made me closer to my husband and allowed
me enough time with my new born and entire family. Instead of the fast
paced life I was used to, I slowed down a bit and this has been great.
It showed me other hidden talents that I had not explored. Now, apart
from being a media personality, I am now an entrepreneur, a food
blogger, photographer and a software developer. The titles keep coming.
Lol
You enjoy cooking a lot, how did you grow to fall in love with it?
Before radio, cooking was and is my first love. I started cooking as a
teenager. Baking all sorts of things in my mum’s kitchen and trying out
different recipes. I taught my entire household as a teenager how to
bake.
Nowadays, we find young ladies say “Any man I must marry must know how to cook” What is your take on this.
I really don’t care about who knows how to cook in marriage. Anybody can do the cooking.
What is your advice to ladies of this generation who find it hard to cook or do not enjoy cooking.
A lady’s life is not all about the kitchen, if you love doing it, do
it. If you can afford it, pay someone else to. There is more to life
than cooking. Women nowadays are thinking beyond cooking. I do it
because I love it but when I am forced to do something, I dislike that
thing.
Was it your food that drew your husband to you (if not, what did)
No, it wasn’t my food that initially drew my husband to me but it was
what made him appreciate me more. He initially liked me as a woman and
enjoyed our intellectual banters before partaking in my culinary
delights. My cooking sealed the deal though. lol
Readers would love to know about Matse’s love, proposal, wedding and honeymoon story
Love proposal ke! It wasn’t the traditional type of proposal. It came
in between a conversation. We were talking and he suddenly said, “Let’s
get married”. I was shocked and he repeated it. That was how the
journey of a thousand miles started.
How have you been able to cope with a culture different from the one you grew up from (marrying a Non-Nigerian?)
My husband is half Nigerian. He is German/Ibo so he understands our culture quite well but has mostly western influence.
Tell us about Chimmy. Was she named after Chimamanda Adichie?
Chimmy my sweetheart. We did not name her after Chimamanda Adichie
per se. We, loved the meaning of the name which is, “My God will never
fall or My God will never fail”. God has been too good to us, so we
chose the name Chimamanda.
How did you feel when you carried her in your arms the very first time?
I was staring at her with so much pride. I was like, so this my baby…mineeee! It was and still is a wonderful experience.
How soon should Chimmy expect a baby sister/brother?
Chimmy’s brother or sister will come when we are ready. Kids are a handful.
The beautiful piece you shared on instagram last year, on
how God changed your story, encouraged many on holding on to hope. How
would you advise single ladies who are over-ripe for marriage to deal
with the pressure from family, friends, and society?
I would advice all single ladies to be focused on their inner and
outer selves and not get distracted or worried about what friends,
family and frenemies have to say. Marriage is not the ultimate. I am not
saying this because I am now married.
Enjoy yourselves while single, have fun, party if you wish, travel to
all corners of the world if you can afford it because when you get
married you may not have that kind of spontaneous freedom again. You now
have a partner you have to plan even the most minute of details with.
When the babies come, it’s extra planning.
You can’t just get up and travel. You need to consider the needs of
your family first but marriage has it’s blessings, you have a partner to
go through the ups and downs with, to share special moments with, to
plan and achieve with, to raise a family with, to grow old with. Being
single and being married is beautiful, so enjoy the stage that you are
at. If you are divorced, don’t worry yourself out. It’s a period to
re-evaluate your life and move forward. Every stage in life has it’s
beauty.
