Nearly two months after the discharge of the Bob Marley biopic One Love, persons are still talking concerning the fascinating story of Bob and his wife Rita Marley.

Much of the discourse focused on their journey as a couple, which challenged conventional narratives about marriage. While the film never shied away from revealing the extramarital affairs of Bob and his offspring from other loves, many individuals praise Rita’s resilience and strength in coping with their unconventional relationship.

British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir and Lashana Lynch play the roles of Bob and Rita, and fans say this film is a must-see.

User X wrote: “The Bob Marley movie was a beautiful tribute to Bob and Rita Marley.”

The movie Bob Marley was a beautiful tribute to Bob and Rita Marley 🙏🏽

— Miss Reid Wash-Belly (@ReenaMcKenzie) March 29, 2024

Regarding Rita specifically, one person said: “I want a bio pic of her man in life. We need her story to be told through her lens.”

I would like a biography of her life, man. She needs her story to be told through her lens.

— Wangui (@_Wangui_) March 29, 2024

The film has sparked a lot interest in Rita’s life that folks are returning to chapters of her 2004 biography, “No Woman No Cry: My Life With Bob Marley.” Now, a recent generation has used technology to explore their lives with the reggae star.

“The girl on TikTok reading excerpts from Rita Marley’s book is my favorite person right now just because of how she reacts to every ‘shocking’ detail,” one person wrote.

The girl on TikTok reading excerpts from Rita Marley’s book is now my favorite person precisely due to the best way she reacts to every “shocking” detail.

LOL, I ended up saying unno seh man, auh, something good, so I do not know what she hoped for when she discovered LMAO no sah

— Kleos (@Khadz_J) March 29, 2024

Take a closer take a look at how Rita remained married to Bob despite their extramarital affairs.

Early years: a growing family

In 1966, Alfarita “Rita” Constantia Anderson became involved with Bob Marley. She was only 20 and he was 21. They remained married until his death in 1981.

Their initial contact was based on music; Rita led the Soulettes singing trio, and Bob was their vocal and recording coach. Though their relationship began as skilled camaraderie, Bob’s relentless pursuit of her love transformed it into something deeper.

Early of their courtship, Bob sent “letters through his friends” to tell Rita that he liked her. They eventually married, and he adopted her little daughter, Sharon, giving her his last name. The singer also has one other daughter from her previous relationship with Cheryl Murray, named Imani Carole Marley.

A yr later, their first child together, Cedella Marley, was born. In 1968, that they had one other child, their first son, David Nesta, aka “Ziggy”.

The couple’s last son together was Stephen Marley, who was born in April 1972. That same yr, a month later after Stephen’s birth, Bob’s namesake, Robert Marley, was also born. Robert was a son he had with a woman named Pat Williams. Three days after Robert’s birth, a woman named Janet Hunt gave birth to his son, Rohan Marley.

A yr after giving birth to three boys, the “One Love” singer had one other daughter on February 26, 1973, with a woman named Janet Bowen and Karen Marley.

“So what if he had children with other women? He all the time told the reality,” Rita said about her husband in 2012. “He always told me when another baby was on the way. He even brought the children to me when they were born, and sometimes I even raised them myself.”

Rita never made the children feel uncomfortable, welcoming them into her life and treating them well. According to Robert, affectionately known as Robbie, Bob also made sure that children, all children, including those he did not father, were loved and knew each other.

This would involve Rita’s daughter with Owen “Ital Tacky” Stewart, a man who became her friend and allegedly “sympathized” because he saw how Bob treated her.

“By about 1973 it was pretty obvious that he started having women in my face” – Rita he saidnoting that his actions made it easier for her to date another man.

Stephanie Marley was born in 1974 and was later adopted by the megastar. After Bob’s death, Rita and Ital Tacky had another daughter in 1985 named Serita Stewart.

Even though Stephanie was conceived outside their marriage, Bob showed her the same warmth and acceptance that Rita showed him when he had children with other women.

Bob will have more children, year after year.

In just six years, from 1975 to 1981, Bob Marley welcomed four children with four different women. Julian, born in 1975, the son of Lucy Pounder; Ky-Mani in ’76 with Anita Belnavis; and Damien in 1978 with Canadian-born Jamaican model Cindy Breakspeare.

In 1976, around the time of Ky-Mani’s birth, Bob and Rita were the victims of a brutal attack by seven bandits in Jamaica. The couple had just finished rehearsal and Rita was in the car. One of the men ran up and shot her in the head. Shots also rang out in the kitchen, hitting Bob in the chest and arm. They would both survive. Bob will live another five years.

Unfortunately, his youngest daughter, Makeda Jahnesta, born in 1981 to Yvette Crichton, was born just a few weeks after Marley’s untimely death from cancer.

Balancing the crown and dealing with disrespect

While Rita welcomed the children, she struggled with their mothers. In her book read by TikTokker @virtuallydani she noted that there were instances when she went to another woman’s house to find her husband and was met with disrespect.

“The person we saw was Esther Anderson leaning out from the upstairs porch,” Rita writes in her autobiography. “I said, ‘Good morning. Is Bob there? Can I see Bob? I knew he was in that room with her.

The woman allegedly rudely asked her wife, “What do you want?” and then asked, “Why did you come here?”

Rita says she thought the woman must have been “crazy” to speak to her that way, but since she had her children with her, she tried to remain calm, asking again if her husband was there.

“He’s sleeping,” the girl allegedly told her.

“Please wake him up for me. This is important,” Rita recalled, then heard: “Why don’t you leave him alone? Why don’t you let him sleep?”

Rita said, “I lost my cool,” and the woman continued to disrespect her. Eventually both women screamed so much that Bob woke up and went outside.

“He came and said, ‘What’s going on? Why are you coming down? Are you trying to create a scene?”

According to Rita, plenty of Esther Anderson came and went in her husband’s life.

“I think the way I saw it was not that he was the man in their life, but for a period of time,” she wrote in her book. “I never became friends with any of them. I didn’t have to… their relationship with Bob was secret and he kept them away from me most of the time.”

Damian Marley’s mother, Cindy, is the loudest of all of Bob’s lovers. On what would have been his 79th birthday on February 6, she posted about being one of his greatest loves and traveling – a week before the premiere of a film celebrating the love and career he shared with Rita.

To help her cope with his other relationships, Rita stated that she needed to see him more as a “loving brother” than a faithful husband.

In the book, she mentioned how she found out about Cindy, noting that Island Record president Chris Blackwell introduced her to Bob. According to Rita, According to According to the TikToker, Cindy, who was once Miss World 1976, was raised by a family that wanted her to marry well.

When she and her brother moved into one among the corporate’s houses as tenants, Bob got to know her and altered the trajectory of her life.

“Cindy lived there as Bob’s tenant. He was there. They continued their relationship. I saw her, but I felt calm knowing that I wasn’t going to start any conflicts,” Rita wrote. – If Bob wants it, fine. If he likes her, it’s his heart.

Adding, “I remember how she looked at me and knew I knew what was going on…she…knew he was coming home to eat and see his wife and kids.”

Eventually, Cindy became pregnant and stated that she was “happy because Bob was happy”.

In other interviews, Rita talked about how she knew Bob was writing songs about Cindy, and sometimes seethed with anger when he asked her to sing the backing vocals for them.

Cindy Breakspeare, Jamaican singer, model, entrepreneur and media personality, was born 67 years ago, on October 24, 1954. In 1976, she was crowned Miss World. It is said that Bob Marley wrote the songs “Turn Your Lights Down Low” and “I Wait for Her in Vain. pic.twitter.com/3B4zEmaPZq

— Wayne Chen (@wcchen) October 24, 2021

She also decided to decide what that would be, putting herself in a position that would ensure that her needs were met.

“I didn’t think I should disturb his relationship, even though it was painful at times,” Rita wrote. “I got tired of standing in the way and as long as I was respected, given everything I needed financially and everything the kids needed, I let him be.

“Another thing I will say for Bob is that he has never allowed any of these women to be disrespectful to me,” she added.

An ending fit for a king

At the age of just 36, Bob Marley died of acral melanoma, a rare form of skin cancer that began in 1977 in the big toe of his right foot and eventually metastasized.

In her memoir, Rita Marley praised the efforts of Dr. Josef Issels, a German physician, to extend Bob’s life beyond the initial grim prognosis. However, as Bob’s condition worsened, he was flown to Miami to spend the last days of his life with Rita and their family.

“Bob leaving was my downfall,” Rita said, adding: “He was my strength, my man, my first heart.”

The funeral of the “Redemption Song” singer took place. intimate hour-long service was held for family and close friends at Holy Trinity Ethiopian Orthodox Church on Maxfield Avenue on May 21, 1981.

Bob’s procession to his internment was a celebration. Rita and her family made sure that the procession went throughout Jamaica so that young and old could say goodbye.

Furthermore, as a final act of love and intimacy, the end of their complicated relationship was a ganja stalk placed in his coffin by his widow, Rita, possibly symbolizing her desire to take care of his desires until the end.