Adekunle Gold Reveals He Wouldn’t Have Married Simi Without a Genotype Match
Nigerian singer Adekunle Gold has revealed that genotype compatibility played a decisive role in his decision to marry fellow artist Simi, saying he would not have gone through with the marriage had the pairing carried a risk of passing sickle cell disease on to their children.
Speaking during a recent appearance on the One54 Africa Podcast, Adekunle Gold explained that checking genotype compatibility was one of the very first things he and Simi did after they met, given his own long-disclosed status as a carrier of the sickle cell trait. “I wouldn’t have married my wife Simi if she were SS or AS. When we met, the first thing we did was to know our genotype, if we match. Forget love. It makes no sense,” he said. According to the singer, the test confirmed that Simi carries the AA genotype, meaning the couple faced no risk of passing sickle cell disease on to their children.
The singer used the interview as an opportunity to advocate more broadly for genotype awareness among couples, arguing that emotional attachment should not override informed, practical decision-making when it comes to marriage and family planning. “There is so much awareness to be done. People need to understand that if you have sickle cell, forget about love; you can’t be with someone with sickle cell too. It makes no sense to bring a child into the world who will be sickly,” he said. He added that couples carrying incompatible genotypes ought to weigh the long-term health implications for any future children before committing to marriage, while stressing that people living with sickle cell disease should not allow the condition to hold back their personal or professional ambitions.
Adekunle Gold, born Adekunle Almoruf Kosoko, has spoken openly about his own lifelong experience with sickle cell disease since 2022, when he first disclosed his condition publicly and revealed that it had inspired his song “5 Star.” He has since channelled much of that experience into advocacy work through the Adekunle Gold Foundation, including the 2025 launch of a free health insurance initiative aimed at supporting 1,000 people living with sickle cell disease across Nigeria.
Adekunle Gold and Simi, both prominent figures in Nigeria’s Afrobeats scene, got married in 2019 after five years of dating and have since welcomed two children together. The singer’s latest comments add to his continued public push for greater genotype awareness among Nigerian couples, reinforcing a message he has consistently emphasised throughout his years of advocacy on the condition.
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