‘I wouldn’t have married her if she were AS or SS’ — Adekunle Gold speaks on genotype

Nigerian singer Adekunle Gold has revealed that he would not have married his wife, Simi, if she had been genotype AS or SS, stressing the importance of genotype compatibility before marriage.

The singer made the disclosure while speaking about the need for greater awareness around sickle cell disease and the importance of couples knowing their genotype before having children.

According to Adekunle Gold, his wife is genotype AA, and they made sure to establish their compatibility early in their relationship.

“I wouldn’t have married my wife if she were SS or AS. She’s AA. I don’t think it makes sense to bring a child into this world and they’d be sickly,” he said.

He explained that while people living with sickle cell disease should not be prevented from finding love, couples need to understand the possible health implications for their children before making decisions about marriage and family.

“That’s why some of us are here. Because they didn’t, I mean, there’s so much awareness that needs to be done and that’s one of the things that we do. Tell people, if you have sickle cell, you can’t forget love. You can’t do it. It makes no sense. Because you’re about to bring your child into the world and then they’re about to be sickly. What is the point?” he said.

Adekunle Gold also acknowledged that the situation would have been difficult for him if his wife had sickle cell disease, maintaining that he would not have gone ahead with the marriage.

“That would have been tough for you with your wife, if your wife, God forbid, had sickle cell. There’s no way I would have done that,” he added.

Recounting how they approached the issue when they met, the singer said genotype testing was one of the important checks they made before taking their relationship further.

He described the process as a simple test that allows couples to determine whether their genotypes are compatible.

“When we met, the first thing we did was like, no agenda type or that we match,” he said.

When asked whether the test was complicated, he explained that it was straightforward and could quickly reveal a person’s genotype.

“You do that, and they tell you she doesn’t have it, so she’s AA. So you’re good. I’m so good. Yeah, you gotta be careful. So you have to do that first,” he said.