Veteran Nollywood star Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde has urged couples to think carefully before committing to marriage when a partner’s family remains openly hostile, warning that love alone may not be enough to withstand entrenched opposition.

Speaking on The Morayo Show, the actress explained that while family resistance should not immediately end a relationship, it must be treated as a serious red flag. She advised partners to begin by making sincere efforts to win over disapproving relatives through patience, openness and consistent good conduct.

Omotola noted that some parents and relatives oppose relationships based on long-held prejudices, including ethnic bias, class differences or unfounded assumptions about a person’s character. In such cases, she said, no amount of goodwill may be enough to change their minds.

According to her, couples must be honest about when resistance has crossed from concern into deep-seated hostility. She cautioned that even families who appear to soften their stance can later revert to old attitudes, creating a cycle of tension that shadows the marriage.

Omotola described marriage as a demanding, lifelong institution that already tests couples in multiple ways. Entering that journey without the backing of key family members, she warned, can turn normal marital challenges into exhausting battles fought on several fronts.

She stressed that support systems are crucial at every stage of a union, from the early years of adjustment to raising children and weathering financial or emotional setbacks. Choosing to marry into a family that has clearly signalled rejection, she argued, is effectively choosing a “rough journey.”

While acknowledging that some couples do succeed despite in-law hostility, Omotola framed such decisions as conscious gambles rather than romantic triumphs. Those who go ahead, she suggested, should do so with clear eyes, fully aware of the emotional cost.

Her message to lovers facing entrenched opposition was blunt: if genuine efforts at reconciliation fail and hostility persists, walking away may be wiser than forcing a union that begins in conflict. In her view, a marriage that starts without family support is often, in the long run, simply not worth it.