Attention married women in hellish matrimonial homes

If your marriage is life-threatening, leave while you are alive-Caroline King, actress

Caroline King fondly known as Carol by her fans and friends is a mother, wife and actress . She has been married for over three decades and she is still enjoying her marriage. She believes that marriage should be enjoyed and not endured. Hence, she advises married women in this interview with ADAEZE AMOS that "if your marriage is life-threatening  leave while you are alive and not wait until you are beaten to death," she said.

For how long have you been married?

For  over 30 years now. My first child is 30 years old.

A bit on your educational background?

I studied Christian Religious Studies and I had  a diploma in Insuring.

Aren’t you supposed  to be a pastor? What are you doing in the acting world?

Passion! Yes, it’s all about passion. It’s about what I have always wanted to do. You know most things are pre-ordained.  I have always wanted to act but I come from a family of professionals-lawyers, doctors, engineers. And my father was like no way I was supposed to study law but I ended up studying what had nothing to do with Law (giggled).  But thank God, I ended up being in the profession that I had always wanted which of course is acting.

What was your childhood like?

Growing up was beautiful, it was nice. I come from a large family. I’m the first of six siblings. We are all seven in number. We are four girls and three boys. Seven of us, I’m the first. And it was always fun, you know, never a dull moment. It was nice really, it was a good experience.

Was it in Lagos that you grew up?

I grew up in Lagos, Kaduna and Zaria.

What thrills you in the acting world?

For me, acting is all about entertaining and also educating. The fact that you can impact so many lives at the same time by playing a particular character. You might never get to meet all these people who are watching the program you are doing but at the end of the day, you are impacting on lives. That just blows my mind. That is what makes me love acting so much and the fact is that if you have noticed most of the character that I play are characters that people can see themselves in. That is about it, that was really what drew me to acting. The fact that I could watch people on TV and I have never met them and as I’m watching, somebody in Kano state is watching that same program, another person in Kaduna is watching it as well. It is amazing.

What soap operas have you featured in?

Everyday People is one of them which is very popular, Edge of Paradise, Secret Love story which is one of my favourites and then most recently showing on TV is Tales of Eve, just to mention but a few.

How do you cope with fame?

Do I really have any coping mechanism? I don’t have any way of coping with it. I’m a happy-go-lucky person. So, I always have a smile on my face, you know. It’s a beautiful thing to walk into a place and people know you and appreciate you and love you. So, I feel it’s a gift. I don’t cope with it in any way. I just flow with fame. I go into a place, I receive the love, I give back the love and I’m happy.

What happens when you are not in the mood to smile and your fans are expecting a smile from you?

Talk to me about it. I try to put on a smile. Yes, there are those times I may not be in the mood to smile but what do I do? You just have to smile and then some people are very sensitive especially if they had seen you before.

You have been married for over 30 years, what should a married woman do when she is being battered by her hubby?

Well, if while courting and he didn’t show any sign that he would beat you up and now you are married to him and he raises his hands on you at the slightest provocation. My own advice is that there should be a distance and then you start to pray for God to touch him. If you stay there, you may die. He may beat you to death. We have instances here and there. What of the young banker  who was killed by her husband, remember? In fact, physical abuse is not for anybody to take in any situation. I don’t care what it says whether one hundred years of marriage, it’s not right.

What is your worst fear?

My worst fear is not making heaven if I drop dead. When I think of that, I’m scared especially when they say the end of the world is here. I’m like God I hope I would be able to see you although we have all fallen short of the glory of God.

How are you inspired when you are down?

I love music and I like myself. I don’t like to see people when I’m down. I like to be on my own and just listen to gospel music, circular music, whichever music that takes my fancy. And then I would walk it out in my head and pray and then come out of it by myself and move on.

Spell your style?

Simple.

You don’t wear tatoos and crazy hairstyles that are very common with divas in the acting world, why?

 I’m in my 50s. So, why do I want to start doing crazy hair styles and tattoos. Nope, I won’t do that.  My style still remians simple and chic.