Veteran Nollywood actress Kate Henshaw has broken her silence on the gradual breakdown of her once-close friendship with fellow screen icon, Genevieve Nnaji, admitting she still cannot fully explain what caused the distance between them. 

Speaking on the Tea with Tay podcast, the 53-year-old actress reflected candidly on a bond that quietly dissolved despite years of shared history, public appearances, and mutual professional regard.

Henshaw said the two were once inseparable, regularly attending events together during the early years of Netflix’s operations in Nigeria, before a noticeable gap began to emerge.

She suggested that Nnaji may have developed some form of mistrust towards her, though she stopped short of stating anything definitive, acknowledging that she remains in the dark about the root cause. “We grew apart. Maybe she had some kind of mistrust about me. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know what came over her,” she said.

The disclosure adds to a conversation Henshaw began in a 2024 interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, where she spoke about Nnaji’s characteristically reserved nature and how it could leave those around her second-guessing themselves.

At the time, Henshaw recalled a period when she felt uncertain about where she stood with her colleague, before a film shoot helped her understand that Nnaji’s withdrawal was not directed at her personally. The two have since shared at least one professional encounter, reuniting on set for a Netflix advertisement filmed in South Africa.

Henshaw was careful to frame the estrangement without bitterness, noting that friendships do not always endure and that people remain in each other’s lives for varying reasons and seasons. Her remarks have nonetheless struck a chord with fans who grew accustomed to seeing the two actresses as close allies during Nollywood’s golden era, with many taking to social media to share their reactions, some defending Nnaji’s well-known preference for privacy while others expressed nostalgia for the friendship.

Genevieve Nnaji, who has maintained a largely low public profile in recent years, has not responded to Henshaw’s comments.

The conversation arrives at a moment of renewed interest in Nnaji’s public life, following reports earlier this year of a warm reunion between the actress and media personality Toke Makinwa at a birthday celebration.