Linda Ejiofor and Suleiman Ibrahim are full of laughter and effervescence from the moment they arrived for our special Val's day edition of Pulse Fun Facts. Admirably, they came in pretty early, a thing Nigerian celebrities are not especially known for.
Even before the bright studio lights came on and cameras started rolling, you could tell that this was a couple at ease with each other; and the touches, pats, and gentle hand rubs that punctuated our conversation with them tell of a camaraderie that only time and genuine fondness could have kindled.
Before the Nollywood couple took turns asking each other questions, we decided to chat a little about their love life. Linda, in her casual satin outfit with a plunging neckline paired with black jeans; and Ibrahim in a blue sleeveless hooded shirt with a playful ‘eat sleep game repeat’ caption went on to give us an interesting peek into their life as lovers and parents to their adorable son, Keon.
From a never-shared story about their engagement to their best memories together and what Valentine’s Day means in their relationship, this is Linda Ejiofor & Ibrahim Suleiman’s Valentine’s day conversation with Pulse NG.
Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman: My 3 favourite memories from our union
“The first would be when he proposed. And this was the one that didn't have anybody around. He had not given me the ring when he actually told me.
“Then the second is our wedding day. I always remember that day because it was perfect; exactly how I wanted it to be. Then the third would be when we found out we were pregnant.”
Our interest was piqued by that lowkey engagement gist, so we pressed for more details…
Ibrahim Suleiman: We had a private engagement before that one you all saw
“So I had gone to shoot something in Bauchi. I was away for three weeks and while I was there, I thought to myself, ‘you cannot just continue like this, you have to lock it down with this babe.
“So the day I got back to Lagos, she picked me up from the airport. After dropping me off, she was about to leave when I said, ‘Look, I'm doing this. I don't have time for boyfriend and girlfriend kind of life anymore. I want to marry you. It's not like I'm in a hurry to get married; I got time, you understand, but I do not want to waste your time and I don't want to miss out on you.
“‘So I want to make sure so that you know where my mind is,’ and then she gave me a very weird look at the time but when I brought the ring and did the whole proposal thing later, it was only the timing that surprised her, not the intention.”
Linda interjects here, all smiles, to tell us what that ‘weird look’ was about…
“I already knew he was the one way before he told me all this because I saw how he listened to people that weren't related to him in any way and how respectful he was and all that.
“I already went to God and said: ‘This is him oh, please make it happen.’ So when Uncle finally proposed, in my mind, I was like, ‘you just dey land. I don reach here siiiince!’”
At this point, laughter breaks out in the room as the cameramen, producers and everyone else let out belly-rumbling cackles. When that subsided, Ibrahim picks up from where he stopped.
Ibrahim: I proposed privately so she could be honest with her answer
“I'm not one to do the whole Hollywood stuff. I always prefer to know what I'm getting into before I get into it. I don't like to ambush people, and also I didn't want to be that person left on one knee while friends go: ‘please now, say yes.’
“I made sure that I did it in a private way so that she could be honest about her response."
We then asked the gorgeous couple, who run a podcast on marriage and parenting, about their love languages…
Linda: My love languages are quality time and words of affirmation
“He could just be walking past me and he touches me. He does that a lot and I know, okay, he sees me. And for words of affirmation, he tells me out of the blues that I am beautiful, he loves and chooses me.”
Ibrahim: It’s acts of service for me
“Growing up I used to be the one who had to take care of everybody. So having someone who, you know, takes care of me, just makes me feel good. It’s great because we're constantly looking for how to take care of each other. Then I think the second love language for me is quality time.”
After asking about what prompted the Twitter post above, the “Heaven Baby” actor says “we all have eyes, she has beautiful lips”, while Linda’s smile broadened approvingly beside him, before they both told us how Valentine’s day, for them, is celebrated.
Linda Ejiofor & Ibrahim Suleiman Valentine’s day tradition
“So I know that this might sound really weird,” Ibrahim says, “and our friends tease us about this quite often, but we are not a Valentine's day type of couple because every other day kind can be Valentine's to us. So we give each other things randomly.”
Linda adds: “More interestingly though, we are always working on Valentine’s Day, so we hardly have time on the day. Even this year 2023, we would be working on the day but we actually had a conversation to try and do something different this year.
“Guess what happened? After asking each other what we wanted, it turns out that both were almost the same price so we just laughed it off and said: ‘run your own, make I run my own and that was it.’”
Just as at different points during this interview, everyone present, including this writer, had a smile on their faces when the couple's story got here, and this conversation genuinely couldn’t have ended on a sweeter note – for them and for us.
Watch now: Linda Ejiofor & Ibrahim Suleiman’s super cute Fun Facts with Pulse
The adorable couple ended their time with a session of asking each other cute questions on our special Valentine’s day edition of Pulse Fun Facts. Enjoy the FULL VIDEO below!