•Olu Jacobs and wife Joke
Veteran Nollywood actress, Joke Silva, has revealed the reason behind her decision to retain her maiden name after getting married to fellow actor, Olu Jacobs.
Speaking on Stephen Akintayo’s Leadership podcast, Silva shared that the choice was not made out of defiance or feminism, but based on a strategic conversation she had with her husband early in their relationship.
According to her, Jacobs advised her to keep her father’s name — Silva — to protect the brand she had already started building in the entertainment industry.
“He was the one who advised that I do not change my name because he understood the importance of branding.
“He said my brand had started building before we met, and changing the brand could cause problems for me,” she said.
Silva added that although she is known publicly as Joke Silva, within their circle, everyone knows her as Mrs. Jacobs.
The award-winning actress also touched on their personal life, noting their 19-year age gap, which she said never stood in the way of their love and mutual respect.
“I was 24, we got married in 1985. He was 19 or 20 years older than me. (I accepted because) I was in love with him. It is as simple as that. He was just a very gorgeous person.
“I remember one of my sisters, when she was home, I think it was 1984, and I had come back home. We met, and she called me aside and said, ‘Joke, this is the man to take to Daddy.’ That was Toyin Olawoye.
“My dad had issues with the fact that he was older, but my mum was like, ‘this is the person they know me with’. And her parents had that kind of age gap as well. So it was no big deal”, she said.
