Nollywood actress Joke Silva says her husband, Olu Jacobs, who she married 37 years ago, is “no longer there”, but she still loves him.

In a recent interview with TV presenter Nancy Isime, Silva opened up on coping with her 80-year-old husband, who has dementia. 

She admitted her struggles, saying, “It hasn’t been easy.

“It’s almost as if the person you married 80 per cent of the time is no longer there.

“But the thing is this when he was there, he was an amazing man; my husband is an incredible father to his children and an amazing husband, he was practically my best friend. I could share anything with him.”

Sylva said they had questioned Jacobs’ behaviour at the early stage of the ailment until his condition deteriorated.

“I always used to ball my eyes out, and then there came the point of acceptance,” she said. 

The actress further revealed that her husband’s condition makes her feel like she is looking after her father as she now loves Jacobs “differently”.

“So in this journey now, it’s like I am looking after my father, that’s the way it is because the husband I knew is no longer there, but this man that is here is somebody that I still love but love in a different way,” she added.

Asides from being veterans in the Nigerian movie industry, the Nollywood love birds have won the hearts of many for their successful marriage. 

Their union produced two children.