Wale Lawal
Star Actress, SHAFFY BELLO Tells City People It is highly unlikely to find any big fan of Nigerian movies who’s not impressed by the exploits of the adorable actress called Shaffy Bello. If she does not melt your heart with the impeccable delivery of her roles, she will with her charming smile and lovable personality. And yes, she is an absolutely gorgeous woman too. Shaffy, no doubt, is a hardworking lady who’s got her flourishing acting career on auto run at this very moment. You will find her face in nearly every blockbuster movie that’s coming out of Nollywood. Her legion of fans just can’t get enough of her. She is everyone’s favourite. That’s why it is almost impossible for most Nollywood fans to do a list of their top five favourite Naija actresses and you won’t find Shaffy Bello’s name popping up repeatedly on that list. Many can’t help but admire her uncanny ability to bring to life complex roles that would’ve given several other actors a tough time to deliver.
The very delectable looking Shaffy has often been in the spotlight, sometimes not just for her craft, but for her ability to draw male attention to herself. Though she has turned 55, Shaffy is stil regarded as one of the sexiest actresses in the country. After her marriage ended a few years ago, she has been in and out of a few relationships. She has dated one or two younger men in the past and now seems to want to go a different route with her relationships.
In an exclusive interview with City Peole in Lekki Phase 1 a couple of weeks ago, while she was on break during the shoot of a movie that had on parade super stars such as RMD, Elvina Ibru, among others, the mother-of-two described her past relationships with younger men as “having fun”, adding that season was over.
Mmen slid into my DMs. When you’re over 50 and young men slide into your DMs to say what’s up, it’s flattering,” she said.
“But the thing is some of them are just badly behaved. Some will come and say ‘hi, dear’. There’s no need for me to date a younger man. I’ve done it before but I think what I want now is different.
“When I dated younger men, I was having fun and it was for a season, that season is over. But there’s nothing wrong with it. What changed is that I know for sure what I want now is marriage.”
The actress said she would be open to marriage if the right person came along. She emphasised that comfort, peace of mind, and emotional connection are now more important to her.
“I don’t mind marriage but I have a very different opinion about what we believe in, and the culture shifting. I think a lot of people are very rigid when it comes to marriage,” she said.
“To be honest with you, when you get to a certain age the pie of relationships becomes smaller but it doesn’t mean things can’t happen. But I am not even interested anymore, I’ve got mine so I’m okay. That’s why I’m not interested in any young guy or relationship. I’m good where I’m at. I’m not married but if it comes I’ll welcome it.
“When I was younger, marriage was you have to reproduce. That’s different from where I am now. What a mature woman like me would be looking for now is different.
“Some ladies are 45 and they’re still looking for marriage and there’s nothing wrong with that. But what I would like now is that I want to be comfortable. What you can do for me I can probably do for myself. So what you’re bringing to the table is different.
“Give me peace of mind and let us both fly. I don’t need a man, I want a man because it’s nice. I am absolutely a romantic, I’m a wifey not a girlfriend, I’m that kind of woman.”
She recalls how her journey to returning to Nigeria and ending her marriage began.
“I learned a lot from the Oprah Winfery Show while I was in my 20s, watching that show, trying so hard, because I found someone that I thought, that woman is like me. That woman is someone I would like to be like.She wasn’t an actor, so that’s not what it was. It was the way she spoke, the way she narrated, the way she hosted the talk show just made me feel, hummnn, I like that. I love her discipline. And I started following it, and I started watching. Not for anything, but it triggered something within me. So that’s where that all started from. So even me joining the choir afterwards and all of that, there was discipline in everything that I did. And that had been my principle since I was in my 20s. And that’s what happened. So, coming to Nigeria was not, oh, yeah, so I’m going to do this, and this is what I’m going to do, and this is how I’m going to do it. No, no. I started in the U.S. I got married, had my first daughter at the age of 26, had my son two years later. I started building a family, did the normal mommy’s working, daddy’s working, come home, get them ready.”
“And coming to Nigeria, I remember then my husband, now ex-husband, he didn’t want me to come, and that’s because, you know, we had a family. We had two children. What am I going to do with these children if you leave? And I thought, let me at least go try. And one day, Pastor Gandhi called us and said, I think she should go give it a shot and see. I had no plans. I just knew that one of the prayers that I kept praying was, Father, if I go and I fall and things don’t go right, as long as I’m still in your hands, as long as I fall and my fall is in your hands, I’ll be alright and I can always go back. So let’s go give this thing a shot. I am risk taker. I can do some risky stuff like that, because if you don’t take the risk, you just never know. And so I did. I took the plunge and, thank goodness, it turned out well. Because it could have been a disaster, but God did it.”
And didn’t she think she was asking for trouble when she announced her marriage had ended, knowing lots of mewn would come knocking on her door? She bursts into laughter. “Oh, God, I love this! How much trouble have I had to contend with? Well, look, I would put it this way. It’s not like I don’t have suitors, but, hey, I don’t want to go through this rendezvous one more time and then it fails, yeah? Whatever it is that you do must glorify your maker. So, for me, first of all, you also have to understand that some men don’t have the confidence for a strong woman. Not a lot of men have the confidence for a strong woman. Automatically, they think, no, this one is too much. And then, two, even when they do come by, sometimes, they don’t match the level of intelligence I want as a sapiosexual, Isn’t that what they call us now? That’s what I’m attracted to. That’s it for me. If you don’t have it up here, we can’t sit and have a conversation. Nine times out of ten, it’s not going to work. And then, at 55, come on, you have to come correct now,” she says pointedly, beaming with smiles.
“I have a 28-year-old child, I have a 26-year-old, I’m not having any more children. What am I looking for now? As someone who just wants to enjoy life, work towards retiring, so that means we’re rounding off working, about to start setting the pace for let’s go here, let’s go there, about to start fixing the home for grandchildren. That’s it. That’s where we’re going now and then, enjoying our own lives. So, maybe I’m accepting resumes. I’m accepting resumes. How about that? Let’s put it that way. I’m accepting resumes. But to be honest with you, another huge problem is the industry, I mean, it doesn’t really allow for a lot of that. I’m talking about the time. And you know how a lot of you African men are? They can be rigid on a lot of issues. And then some of them don’t even want to date actors, forgetting the fact that it’s just a job, it’s a career, it’s a profession as well and it doesn’t give us time, too. Do you know how many family occasions I’m invited to and I can’t make it? So, there’s a lot.”
Is she scared of men sometimes, especially when she’s unsure of their intentions? She laughs. “Me? That’s not my problem! I don’t know your intentions? Oh, I will know because you’re coming to meet a child of God with discerning spirit. Oh, yes, I would know. And then, I’ve spent a lot of time on this earth, you’re going to have to really do a fantastic job at hiding some of the things. Now, because I still allow your presence to be around me, it doesn’t mean I didn’t see it. But it’s just that maybe your positive outweighs the negative and you know, nobody’s perfect. But that you will come, you want to take advantage of me? God will, first of all, step in. I’ve had situations where God will step in and take you out of the equation. And I don’t question it when things like that happen. Because when you pray, expect to receive. So when I’m praying that Father God, order my steps and so when He orders your steps and takes someone out of your life, why question it?”
–Wale Lawal
(08037209290)
Source: CityPeopleOnline | Read the Full Story…
