Lara & Alex Adegbenro were unveiled as the cover stars for Mode Men magazine’s 2016 Valentine Issue. Favourite cover till date. Even after Jidenna featured on it o! Sure you've all seen the likes of Audu Maikori, BankyW, Di'Ja, Efya, Sound Sultan, Juliet Ibrahim & many others post this cover of Lara & Alex on their Instagram pages!
In their interview the showbiz couple talks about how they support each other, some marriage challenges, working together and more.
Lara Adegbenro is televisions new favourite face while Alex with his PR & Marketing company, iCirculate (www.iCirculateWorld.com), is her manager.
Their interview was definitely a humble & fun one. Here are some excerpts, but buy the magazine for the full gist!
Meet The Adegbenros: (Instagram: @Ldivaa & @Mr.VB)
MODE MEN: Alex, how do you deal with your wife being in the entertainment industry.
AA: I find solace in my wife conquering her dreams. So by default, I support everything that she does. I may have a different approach to attaining certain things, but together, see that she gets there.
MODE MEN: Lara, 2015 was a good year for you. Within a short span you were flying to New York, back to London, DC for work. It takes others years to get such opportunities. What are you doing differently?
LA: Well, firstly it's the Grace of God but also, when you work with a commendable PR group such as iCirculate then opportunities are brought to you regularly
Divine favour from God, that's what I pray for all the time.
Lara gets comical:
http://youtu.be/CFdOVKmhiKc
MODE MEN: Lara, what's it like working with Alex?
LA: It's fun, but can be a bit tricky when we disagree, because all of a sudden the difference between talking to Alex my manager and talking to Alex my husband becomes foggy, but with that said, the great thing about having my husband as my manager is that I am certain he has my best interest at heart.
MODE MEN: Alex, what sort of challenges do you face working with Lara and how do you overcome them?
AA: We both have lots of great ideas. Luckily, we see eye to eye on majority of things. However, there are times when our ideas clash. Over the years, there has been growth. As either a husband or manager, I remind myself to listen, listen & listen. Understand her & help her understand me as well & we compromise.
MODE MEN: Lara, how did you and Alex handle your biggest misunderstanding?
LA: Well, emotional blackmail, that's how we women roll, I'm kidding. Seriously I think what we fight about mostly is the fact that I don't like a lot of attention, or trying to be portrayed as a celebrity (it actually makes me cringe). The thing is he understands the importance of being out there and not being forgotten and that sometimes means doing things out of my comfort zone, if that's what it takes for me to be successful in a field I'm so passionate about, then so be it.
MODE MEN: Alex, how would you describe Lara?
AA: Godly, passionate & strong! God, she's strong! She's passionate about God, her career, her family!
MODE MEN: Lara, what are some of Alex's bad habits?
LA: He drinks the family orange juice straight from the carton.
He puts barbecue sauce on everything, especially jollof rice, it's so frustrating after sweating in the kitchen and putting all those flavours together then he ruins it with barbecue sauce.
MODE MEN: We'll play fair! Alex, you can go ahead and tell us some of Lara's bad habits.
AA: Yes! Thank you! lol!
Hmm! Lara will get up at 2:38am to eat rice!
MODE MEN: Lara, what has marriage taught you?
LA: Patience, prayer and how to love differently - selflessly and unconditionally. Having a family comes with some serious responsibilities, and that in turn brings about a lot of pressure, that makes it hard sometimes but having an amazing husband and wonderful daughter makes everything worthwhile and of course keeps me very very happy.
MODE MEN: Alex, what does fulfillment mean to you?
AA: Being able to provide my family with what they NEED & what they WANT. That for me is the ultimate fulfillment!
MODE MEN: Alex, what made you decide Lara was the woman for you?
AA: I remember my father asking me to be sure I knew what I was getting into. Here was my reply, She reminds me of mummy! My mother had always been the best woman I ever knew. Godly & selfless! Then I finally met a girl who had those traits & more!
MODE MEN: Lara, what are Alex's top qualities?
LA: He is the most generous person I know
He is very clever!
He is also very creative, and OMG he is such a funny person, he makes me laugh like 10 times a day. I'm usually a quiet and reserved person but when we sit & gist, goodness we go on for hours, sometimes I wonder after 7 years of being together how is it that we still have so much to talk about? Well I actually I know, it's because I marred my best friend.
He is super romantic, he gets me flowers on random days, tells me I'm beautiful everyday and mostly when I have no make up on, he always has sweet things to say to me and makes me feel like we are still at the dating stage where he's trying to impress me, listen the list is endless, he is an amazing guy and I'm truly blessed to be his wife.
MODE MEN: Lara, describe the Lara Adegbenro brand.
LA: Lara Adegbenro brand is simply showing Africa's originality and authenticity to the world. Anyone who knows me knows I've always been about my roots, (I was born in the UK and returned when I was 15) I don't apologise for where I'm from, I don't hide it, I'm proud of it. Whatever I do, I celebrate Nigeria, I've always been like that well before it became 'cool' to do so.
So Media and entertainment is the most powerful medium to relay messages so the Lara Adegbenro brand uses that medium through creativity to show the work how beautiful Nigeria is.
MODE MEN: Lara, what inspires you?
LA: The creative talent God has given me, my family and the drive to want to be successful.
MODE MEN: Lara, being the daughter of the legendary Jimi Odumosu, do you feel being pressured being in the TV & Film industry like your father?
LA: Absolutely, he has left some massive shoes for me to fill and that's very scary. The real conundrum is, if I do as well as him then people will say it's because his blood runs in my veins, if I don't then it's how can you be Jimi Odumosus daughter and not deliver to certain standards. Either way his name pops up, but at the end of the day he has built a great name for himself, and being connected to that is an honour and privilege and I'm working hard everyday to make sure I carry on his legacy
MODE MEN: Alex, what's Lara's favourite meal?
AA: She loves her amala & gbegiri. I remember her & Seyi Shay reminiscing about amala! Then again she can eat yam & egg everyday of the week.
MODE MEN: Is he right Lara?
LA: lol! Yes! I must really love yam. Amala does come from yam.
MODE MEN: Alex, do you handle Lara more like a wife or client when you work?
AA: I have every clients best interest at heart. So I give them 110%. I think Lara also gets 110% as a client & then an extra 110% as her husband.
There's more to learn about these two! Buy your copy of Mode Men Magazine ( @ModeMenMag) to read more!
Lara will also be giving out every outfit she has worn (once) on her TV show! She will be working with Style Vitae to do this so make sure you follow them both closely on Instagram for a chance to win!
Watch Lara work the red carpet for Ebony Life TV at the 2015 NEA AW
ARDS!