I Lost My Job, Went Broke, Survived Car Accident Months After Wedding – Uzor Arukwe

Nollywood actor Uzor Arukwe has shared details about one of the most difficult periods of his life, revealing that he struggled financially just a few months after getting married.

Speaking in a recent interview on Tope Olowoniyan TV, the actor said his problems began shortly after his wedding.

According to him, he got married in August but lost his job by November, leaving him in a difficult financial situation.

Arukwe explained that things became even worse when he was involved in a car accident around the same time.

“The same year that I settled down, I lost my job. I got married in August, and I lost my job in November. That happened, and my finances just went crazy,” he said.

“At that same period, I had an accident with my car. It was stupid, it was a mess. My yearly rent starts in January so when everyone is doing Detty December, and this has been happening since 2013, I’m always calculating.

“I am not spending, I am not partying, I’m literally calculating stuff. My rent was due every January and when my first daughter came, school fees happened too. So, yes, my finances have been a mess for the longest. My small circle of friends know.”

Uzor Arukwe said the difficult period came as he decided to leave the corporate sector and focus entirely on acting.

Before joining Nollywood full-time, he had spent about five years working in communications and another five years in retail.

According to Arukwe, his wife initially encouraged him to suspend his acting ambitions so they could focus on earning a steady income to support their family.

“There was a time everybody thought I was crazy when I wanted to become a full-time actor after coming from corporate world. I worked in communication for five years, I did retail for another five years,” he said.

“I got a job with Keystone bank but I couldn’t do it because I was coming from telecoms and I kept asking myself why I should be wearing a suit and tie to market to people when I wanted to do something that would allow me to express myself.

“Then my partner was like, ‘We need money now. This your dream is for later.’ So yeah, my finances was a mess. I was broke. I had zero person to fall on because my father was a tough-love type of guy. He was a Biafra soldier. He no send your papa. My mom is caring but she didn’t have as much money as my father did.”

Uzor Arukwe is married to Barbara Boyd-Arukwe, and the couple have two daughters.

In 2024, the actor disclosed that he spent a year without a job after being laid off by Etisalat Nigeria in 2012.

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