I have some news.
Beautiful, personal, sacred news. A prayer, really.
It’s something I want to hold close—to nurture quietly, to meditate on and manifest with those who can truly hold me in the light as all this beauty and change unfolds. It’s delicate and fragile. Scary and awe-inspiring. Humbling and deeply profound.
In my Nigerian culture, we don’t really announce this kind of news. It’s meant to be protected. Everything in me resists sharing it publicly—not because I’m not grateful or joyful, but because this feels like one of the few things that truly belongs to me.
The success of Sinners, a project that has gifted me with more than I could imagine, a cast and crew who’ve become like family and the undeniable support of movie goers, has also given me a new visibility. I’ll be in the public eye for the coming weeks [during awards season] as we excitedly take our seats amongst our peers, and I will be doing it with an ever-growing bump.
I’ve been advised to get ahead of speculation and questions. Keen eyes mean speculation has already begun. Is she pregnant? Has she gained weight? What’s with the outfit?
Photo: Gianna Dorsey
Truthfully, I’d love to just show up as me—a woman who happens to be pregnant—celebrating our powerful film and our amazing team, while I protect this most sacred prayer of my life. So, I’ve decided to stop trying to camouflage my bump today at the Golden Globes, so me and baby can truly enjoy and embrace the moment fully together.
Baby has seen me through ever so carefully, and I want to celebrate how wonderfully we’ve done together to get here as a team, as demanding as it’s been. In Yoruba, we say Iya ni Wúrà which means “mother is golden,” so when I saw sketches of this beautiful custom yellow Matthew Reisman, I knew it was the right dress and the right moment.
Maybe it’s naïve, but with scrutiny around women’s bodies, I wish we could let women simply be. Without dissection. Because it’s never just about bodies or parts. Matrescence is a journey—often a very difficult one. No matter how “easy” a pregnancy may appear, you have no idea what someone has endured to arrive there. The trials. The tears. The tests. We know, in theory, that it isn’t simple—but we don’t practice the gentleness required when speaking about, or to someone who is, or might be, or has been, or is trying to become pregnant.
