Not being able to bear children makes me feel inadequate – Nollywood star, Nse Ikpe-Etim

Actress Nse Ikpe-Etim has revealed in an interview of feeling inadequate the day she discovered she could not have children.

In a recent chat with Nigerian journalist Chude Jideonwo, she stated that though she did not feel ashamed when she heard the news, she rather felt inadequate.

“I didn’t feel shame, but inadequacy, I felt

inadequate as a woman because everytime it was mentioned I would remember. So that’s what it was.

“Shame? I’m not ashamed. The least that I would be but I’m thankful for how I was brought up, we don’t tie shame to ourselves. We live through life fully and that’s how it is,” the actress added. 

In 2019, the actress came out openly at an event titled “Conversations with Nse” to reveal that she was advised by her doctors to remove her uterus in order to save her life, due to being diagnosed in 2016 with Adenomyosis, a condition whereby the inner lining of the uterus breaks through the muscle wall of the uterus.

When asked during the interview, on the topic of adoption, she gave an affirmative response saying, “You never say never, but right now Clifford and I are dog parents. People should be allowed to live, what else? We are okay! And nothing defines you, not one thing defines you.”

Speaking on how supportive her husband Clifford Sule has been through her journey, she said: “No, but is that not the way it’s supposed to be? Because when people say ‘oh we need to really be thankful for’.

“I don’t understand. What really happened? This is us, you walk in there as it’s a partnership. What comes? Good, bad, ugly, it’s us, just let it be.”

The actress who starred in ‘King of Boys: The Return of the King’, talked about her inability get new movie roles since, stating that after her recovery, she was at peace with not getting movie roles.

“If any actor says they haven’t been through that then I don’t envy them because the drought is also time for growth.

“You can’t waste any moments and I think if you’re prepared when the opportunity comes, if there was a drought, you’re ready. So there’s no moment that’s a drought for me,” She said.

“Yes they don’t come or yes they come and you’re not quite sure. But yes, I have had a drought, like massive drought, and this was during the period when I had a medical condition and I wasn’t available.

“And in life, no matter how you look at it, there are some things that are more important than other things,” the ‘Mr and Mrs’ actress added.

“And so it was family time and it was necessary to at least understand that what it is that I had gotten myself into because I didn’t get married because it was fashionable. You’re living with someone, you’ve got to learn yourselves.

“It’s a thing, and if it’s a thing you’ve walked into, you’ve got to do what people do. Right? So it was during this period that I realized I had a health condition and I was going through so much in my head.

“So even when things came, I was enthused. Then they stopped coming altogether and that too was fine. Because really, it didn’t matter to me. I was done, mentally.”

Peoples Gazette