Big weddings pressure people, ruin marriages — Ruth Kadiri

Popular movie star Ruth Kadiri has shared her two cents on elaborate weddings. According to the filmmaker who took to her social media account, she tabled reasons why weddings should be close-knit. In the video she posted, she remarked that some people have a phobia of big spending when it comes to marriage ceremonies, but society pushes them to do so.

She further commented that she did not have an elaborate wedding and that has been part of the success of her seven-year union with her spouse.

She said, “I think big weddings put pressure on people; it puts pressure on couples, and they don’t seem to have realised that. I am not talking about spirituality; I am talking about mentally. Do you know that people have a phobia, a fear of what marriage is? They would date this girl, love her for years, then after the ceremony, things change. Have you asked yourself what changed? Marriage, wedding, is part of what changed. I want to encourage young people to go to their parents’ house with a few people, pay the bride price and go home. If you want to do your wedding, invite 30 people, then go to court. From the court, call a pastor and let him pray, then take wine and sleep. It would be as if you did a birthday party.

Kadiria further said, “Do you know that this kind of thing sometimes it takes you like six months to realise that you are married. I never had that kind of marriage, and I feel like it is part of why I am successful. I can categorically say I am successful after seven years.  Some people have been divorced after two months. I have tried. Nigeria puts too much pressure on us. There is the engagement, court, white wedding. People genuinely feel that if their wedding does not go through this process, it would not work.

She further advised parents, “One of the things I need for this generation is the pressure for parents to always want their children to bring money home. The next thing is the pressure on firstborns. Let us breathe. I thank God for the kind of mother that I have. Another pressure is that of succeeding, which means different things to different people. I feel like I am the right person to say this. The pressure in 2026, I feel sorry for people out there.”