She walks into the gym, usually the oldest person in the room. Most others are at least 30 years younger. But she’s not there to prove anything. She’s there because her body needs it.
“I hate exercising,” she says plainly. “But after menopause, I was diagnosed with arthritis at 50. That was too young not to have done the right health checks.”
Doctors suggested swimming to strengthen her legs. She did it. But arthritis is a degenerative disease, and by 65, she had surgery. The recovery was painful, but she pulled through.
Living abroad showed her how seriously people take fitness and health. In Nigeria, she says, people, especially women, tend to put themselves last. “The older men are still lifting and stretching. But where are the women?”
Her life has been full of bold pivots. She studied law but didn’t love it. Eventually, she turned to photography and asked her husband to sell his stock to fund her business. He did.
She doesn’t fit the mold. She boxes. She practices martial arts. She laughs when people say she’s not the kind of woman men want to date. “Almost every man I’ve dated wanted to marry me.”
Her first marriage didn’t work out. They barely courted and lived on different continents. “We didn’t lose each other. We just weren’t right for each other. Money doesn’t make a marriage work.”
She’s not afraid to question what others accept. “Most married women I know are basically single. The man is absent, cheating, controlling, or just providing shelter.”
Her advice on choosing a partner is simple. “It’s luck. You can marry a virgin and still get divorced. If you’re not compatible, it won’t last.”
She considers herself lucky, not because life was easy, but because she always chose herself. She didn’t settle. She didn’t care about public opinion. And she’s still showing up, stronger than ever.
Watch Excerpt : https://vimeo.com/1090215672
