Not much is known about Kanu Nwankwo’s wife, Amara, because the mother of three has successfully kept her life away from the media.
The architecture graduate has rarely granted interviews and for the first time, she is dishing on how marriage has been for her, keeping up with her husband’s fame, leading a life outside social media, and her career plans.
Amara Kanu will be celebrating her 12 wedding anniversary to the football star, and it is interesting to see her open up to the public.
See the excerpts from the interview:
On motherhood
Motherhood is the best thing that has ever happened to me. In terms of motherhood, women empowerment and business sense, Beyonce inspires me. My children will always be my priority and I give God the most gratitude for blessing me with children. If I invest my time in them, they will give me more value at the end of the day.
On getting married as a teenager, at 18
Marriage is a growth process and I learn on a daily basis. I got married as a teenager. I was young. I think I jumped into the deep end and I simply went with it. It takes a lot of determination to keep things going because irrespective of your age, marriage throws a lot of curves at you. The main thing is being able to bounce back after being hit with a surprise or what you do not expect.
On her thoughts about marriage:
I wasn’t scared; I felt it like it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I was in love, so there was no time for a negative feeling like fear to come up. I think the love I had and still have for my husband was all I needed to feel comfortable and good.
On being thrust to the spotlight due to marriage to a star:
When I was getting married, I was not ready to be thrust into the limelight. I didn’t even know what I was getting into. I wasn’t a football fan and I knew nothing about the Premiership. I didn’t know I was getting married into that level of limelight as I was young, vibrant and in love. I am now a football fan.
On dealing with risks associated with her husband’s job when he was active:
When I began to understand what it meant to lose a game, I had to learn to cheer him up. I also had to learn really fast that every game had a consequence, a price and a goal at the end of the day.
On managing media exposure:
If you notice, this interview is one of the very few I have granted in recent times. I try to keep my sanity, so that I can protect my family. I had to make a personal decision to stay private for a very long time in order to build what I have built for myself and my children. I understood this from a very young age.
On early marriage and if she would let her daughter go through with it
Having gone through it myself, I wouldn’t say I would like her to do the same. I would like her to experience life slightly a bit more than I did. But it all depends on the circumstances and the persons involved. I had support from my mum, dad and siblings. In hindsight, I can say that they actually did a good job. In June, we would celebrate the 12th anniversary of our wedding.
On how she deals with criticism
I ignored critics and paid no attention to what people said. I overlooked Facebook and I only signed on to the platform in July 2011. That was shortly after I earned a degree in Architecture.
See the photos of her family:
