Nollywood actress Regina Chukwu has opened up about the heartbreaking experience of losing her husband just three years into their marriage due to a devastating illness.
Speaking on a recent episode of Biola Adebayo’s YouTube podcast, Regina detailed how the illness not only consumed their finances but also pushed her late husband into unthinkable pain and despair.
According to the actress, the tragedy struck when their youngest child was just four months old. She recalled how they spent all their savings trying to treat his illness, which eventually led them to his village in Enugu State for local treatment. Despite their efforts, his condition only worsened.
“In Heaven and Earth, all the money he had home and abroad was eleven thousand naira,” Regina said, recounting the night of their traditional wedding. “I cried that night. Not because we had no money, but because I realised how deep the sickness had eaten into his capital.”
As the illness progressed, life became increasingly difficult for the young family. Regina had to return to work just 41 days after childbirth, with a newborn strapped to her back while her husband, now bedridden and dependent on a potty, remained at home.
She painfully described the moment he asked her to plead with his mother to allow him a mercy death. “He told me to help him beg his mother to give him mercy death,” she said, revealing how unbearable the pain had become for him.
Eventually, he succumbed to the illness. Regina recalled a traumatic scene where her father-in-law dragged his lifeless body and declared him dead. The shock caused her to faint. By the time she regained consciousness, her husband had already been buried, denying her the chance to say a final goodbye.
After the burial, her in-laws offered to support her in Enugu, but the emotional scars remain.
Regina’s story serves as a powerful reminder of the emotional and physical toll illness can take on a young family, and the strength required to carry on in the face of unimaginable loss.
