“My Mother Is the Reason I’m Childless” — Actress Dupe Jayesimi Opens Up at 60

Veteran Yoruba Nollywood actress Dupe Jayesimi has made a deeply personal revelation, opening up about her decades-long struggle with childlessness in an emotional interview on Abiola Adebayo’s *Talk-to-B* podcast.

Jayesimi, now in her 60s, shared painful details of her journey marked by repeated miscarriages, a failed marriage, societal pressure, and personal regrets. Married on October 22, 1988, her struggle began shortly after her wedding, when she suffered a miscarriage following an earlier conception. Multiple medical tests and unsuccessful attempts to conceive took a toll on her marriage. “My husband and I had misunderstandings, and five years into the marriage, he stopped checking on me,” she said. “He started using a pillow to divide the bed, and eventually forced me out.”

Only two weeks after she moved out, another woman—already pregnant—moved into the home she had built with her husband. Struggling to cope, Jayesimi turned to alcohol and battled depression for years. Still hoping to become a mother, she later entered another relationship with a man she refers to as an Alhaji, who supported her efforts to conceive. Despite two rounds of IVF, she was left heartbroken once again. A spontaneous conception at age 40 ended in an ectopic pregnancy. “I cried my heart out,” she recalled.

Eventually, the relationship ended after the man’s wife began attacking her. Desperate for a child, Jayesimi considered adoption, but her mother was firmly against it. “If you adopt any kid, I will feed them to death,” she remembered her mother saying. “It was then I knew I was in for a long ride.”

Now reflecting on her past, Jayesimi places blame on her mother for preventing her from adopting when she still had the chance. “If I had not listened to my mum, I would have adopted a long time ago,” she said. “I’m not fighting her, but I want her to stay clear of me because she’s the cause of my childlessness.”

Jayesimi revealed she has even faced mockery from children she once cared for. “This acting job is just a blessing in disguise,” she said. “It has helped me survive the mockery.”

At 60, she remains hopeful for one final shot at motherhood—not through marriage or medicine, but through adoption. “What I want to do now is get a child who will be my company,” she said, determined to find peace in the next chapter of her life.