Singer Adekunle Gold has drawn a hard line on love and genotype, saying he would not have married his wife, Simi, if her blood type had put their children at risk of sickle cell disease.
Speaking on the One54 Africa podcast, the Many People star said he still has sickle cell crises from time to time, but is grateful for good healthcare. He used his own life to push a blunt message: check genotype before you build a home.
“I have sickle cell crisis once in a while, but I’m grateful to have access to the best healthcare. There’s so much awareness that needs to be done and one of the things we do is tell people, ‘if you and your partner have sickle cell, forget love. You can’t do it. It makes no sense because you’re about to bring a child into the world and it’s going to be sickly so what’s the point?’” he said.
He went further.
“I wouldn’t have married my wife, Simi, if she were SS or AS. When we met, one of the first things I did was know her genotype to see if we matched. She’s AA, I’m SS so we’re good.”
Adekunle Gold, whose full name is Adekunle Almoruf Kosoko, has lived with sickle cell disease all his life. He has spoken before about painful crises, lifelong medication, and nights when the pain almost broke him. He and Simisola Bolatito Kosoko married in January 2019 after years of dating. They have two children. He has also praised Simi for staying when she learned he was SS.
His latest comments have split listeners. Some called it responsible parenting. Others said love should not be cancelled by genotype, and that people with sickle cell can still live full lives with the right care.
Nigeria carries one of the world’s heaviest sickle cell burdens, and genotype testing before marriage remains a loud public health campaign. Gold has said his own parents were both affected, which is why the subject sits so close to him.