Desperation and the fear of getting old before settling for a blissful married life has forced many entertainers to settle with wrong partners resulting in failed marriages, a film-maker has said.

Nigeria’s ace film-maker, Fidelis Duker, made the assertion on Thursday in Lagos when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on “Why Entertainers Marriages Fail’’.

Duker, who has been married for 17 years said: “Many celebrities jump into marriage due to desperation and pressure, leading to their settling with wrong partners for fear of getting older.

“This is common among the later generation. Women settle into marriages with the wrong men for fear that they are not getting any younger. And because their friends are all married and hence, do not want to be left out in the marriage gossips or from family pressure.

“On the other hand, men marry the wrong girl because they are the type of women their mothers want for them or they are good in bed, or they can cook. They spend so much time and money preparing for `BellaNaija’, worthy wedding ceremonies and actually fail to prepare ahead for the marriage itself. How could it possibly work when the two individuals are actually incompatible when it comes to the things that truly matter for a marriage to thrive.”

Duke also said that marriage was not about the money spent on the ceremony or the number of people that attended the event or how well the media reported the ceremony.

“We keep hearing of marriages that were done `hush-hush’, why would you marry a man or a woman who has a mysterious past?” he added.
“If your friend or colleagues know that the person you are about to wed has a partner already, why should you still go on with such a wedding?

“But because of desperation, most marriages end up having problems both in the music and movie industries. It is because they are all desperate to get married, that is why there are so many marriage failures.

“I tell people that it is not everybody that will be rich and it is not everyone that will get married.
“People must understand that because Ms A had her marriage in Dubai does not mean that you also have to have yours there.”

On whether money could be a key factor to good marriage, the producer said that it was in the past that the Igbos believed money was everything before marriage.

He noted, however, that at the time he got married, he was already at the peak of his career.
Duke said that as a young man, he was making as much as N3 million from a film, but he kept the money under the table in his office while still living with his parents.

The producer advised lovers to have the mindset of helping each other’s weakness before deciding to go into marriage. He said that marriages crash these days due to trivial issues which could have been avoided.