Veteran Yoruba Nollywood actress Yetunde Wunmi has talked candidly about a very intimate and emotional period in her early acting career.
The renowned thespian described in an open interview on Talk2dunnis TV how her love of the theater compelled her to make a tough and ultimately devastating choice that has affected her life for a long time.
Wunmi revealed that shortly after giving birth to her child—barely 41 days postpartum—she made the unexpected decision to rejoin her boss’s theatre troupe for a trip.
The decision came when she stumbled upon the group during one of their rehearsals. Driven by a strong desire to perform and a sense of belonging, she expressed her willingness to join them on their upcoming journey. Her colleagues were surprised, given her recent delivery, but Wunmi was determined.
Faced with the reality that her husband would likely not approve of her leaving home so soon after childbirth, she resorted to deception.
Instead of revealing her true intentions, she told him she was travelling to visit her mother in another town. This calculated lie paved the way for her to embark on the trip with her theatre group without raising suspicion.
During the trip, the actress juggled her role as a new mother with the demands of performance. She took her infant along, even wrapping the child in her costume during cold stage moments.
Between scenes, she would hand the baby over to a caretaker, resuming her maternal duties as soon as each performance ended.
Unfortunately, the child fell seriously ill during one of the outings and later passed away at just one year and ten days old.
She said: “One unforgettable experience in my life was when I joined my boss theatre troupe. At the time, I was nursing a newborn who was less than 41 days old. One day, I decided to take a walk and saw my group in the middle of a rehearsal. Curious, I asked if there was an outing. My boss replied that the troupe was preparing for a trip, and without hesitation, I said I would join them. Everyone assumed I was joking because I had just given birth. But I was serious. So I had to lie to my husband. I didn’t tell my husband the real reason I was leaving; instead, I told him I was going to visit my mother in another town. Anytime I was called to the stage to dance, I would wrap the baby in my costume because it was extremely cold. Then I’d give the child to someone, and take the child back whenever I was done. After one of these performances, the baby developed a high fever. I rushed to a pharmacy for medication. Two days later, my boss advised me to return home because of the baby’s health, but I insisted on staying. Sadly, the child died at just one year and ten days old.”