Idris Elba has admitted that quarantining with his wife Sabrina Dhowre-Elba has tested their relationship, after the married couple revealed they had both contracted the coronavirus.
Taking to Instagram live on day 13 of his quarantine, Idris, 47, answered questions from fans, as Sabrina, 29, cosied up next to him on the couch.
‘So far I am feeling okay. It’s about keeping my mental health…’ he said. ‘I am just trying to keep my mind clear. We have just been peaceful.’
Testing times: Idris Elba has admitted that quarantining with his wife Sabrina Dhowre-Elba has tested their relationship, after the married couple revealed they had both contracted the coronavirus
He then added: ‘Although we did have one fight yesterday. I had to go into another room. This is a definite test of your relationship and your humanity.’
Sabrina had not contracted the virus originally, but refused to not stay with her husband during his quarantine – effectively catching it too.
Musing on the virus, Idris went on: ‘Corona was set up as an instadeath-threat – everyone just thought oh my God I’m gonna die. But it’s helped me to understand that COVID-19 is just one strand of corona and that made me feel better.
‘I am lucky that I am not really showing any symptoms. Part of it is a lot of people don’t understand it. But I’m not discrediting that people are dying…’
Staying connected: Taking to Instagram live on day 13 of his quarantine, Idris, 47, answered questions from fans, as Sabrina, 29, cosied up next to him on the couch
He said: ‘So far I am feeling okay. It’s about keeping my mental health. I am just trying to keep my mind clear. We have just been peaceful’
He then added: ‘Although we did have one fight yesterday. I had to go into another room. This is a definite test of your relationship and your humanity’
One fan changed the subject and asked him about the possibility of him playing James Bond, to which he replied: ‘It’ s a rumour. I am not going to get it definitely. It is just the biggest rumour in the world!’
Another asked him about more episodes of his TV show Luther, to which he said: ‘I don’t know about that…’
Defending their decision to isolate together following The Wire star’s diagnosis, Sabrina told Oprah Winfrey ‘I wanted to be with him’ and claimed she felt ‘the instinct of a wife’ to take care of him.
In an interview on Winfrey’s new Apple TV+ series Oprah Talks, the couple opened up about being quarantined together in New Mexico, where Elba’s latest film was in production.
‘Actually, I found out this morning, Oprah, that I tested positive,’ Sabrina told the host on Facetime on Saturday.
‘I wanted to be with him’: Sabrina defended her decision not to self-isolate
Idris told Oprah, he ‘hasn’t witnessed any major symptoms’ and is ‘feeling okay.’
‘It’s interesting and worrying that people are possibly carrying this disease and are seemingly okay, but can spread it easily,’ he said of not being symptomatic.
Sabrina, who also feels healthy, said: ‘I don’t feel anything that would come to what people would now expect to be a symptom of coronavirus, which is really strange. It might change in the coming weeks, and we’ll keep everyone updated.’
To stay entertained in isolation, the pair are focusing on the ‘silver lining’ of spending quality time together and playing video games, chess and ‘staying creative.’
‘It’s interesting and worrying that people are possibly carrying this disease and are seemingly okay, but can spread it easily,’ Idris said of not being symptomatic
Sabrina also revealed her man has started learning the guitar and has been serenading her.
‘You know what? He’s not bad. I don’t mind him playing it. It’s kind of romantic,’ she gushed.
Idris also said it is ‘really obvious’ to him that the outbreak is the world crying out.
Elba said: ‘One of the upsides of this whole drama is that we are forced to think together as a race.
‘Our world has been taking a kicking. We have damaged our world and it’s no surprise that our world is reacting to the human race.
‘It is no surprise that a virus has been created that is going to slow us down, and ultimately make us think differently about our world and ourselves.
‘For me, that’s a stand-out thing that is really obvious. This is almost like the world’s cry out.
‘Like: ‘Hey, hey, hey – you are kicking me and what you’re doing is not good, so we will get rid of you.’
‘As any organism would do, (the world) is trying to get rid of an infection, and maybe this is it for the world.’
While Idris is thought to have been exposed to the virus on March 4, the actor spent the next several days on set of the upcoming Netflix film The Harder They Fall in Sante Fe, New Mexico.
Inseparable: Despite facing backlash for staying by her husband’s side, she told the television producer, ‘I wanted to be with him’ and felt ‘the instinct of a wife’ to take care of him
According to TMZ, Idris had direct contact with members of the stunt team on set who are now angered at the way the situation has been handled as none of them knew he had COVID-19 until he revealed it himself on March 16.
The publication reports that as of last Friday, no one else working on the film set has been tested for the virus and they feel more should be done to protect them or give them peace of mind.
After the Luther star posted a video on Monday night confirming he has tested positive with Sabrina next to him, the pair faced criticism for not keeping their distance.
Just four days ago, he posted a video addressing the ‘negative’ comments about choosing not to isolate himself from his wife, explaining they had ‘calculated the risk.’
‘As much as we talked about her not coming to where I am, she did and wanted to and I love her even more for it and I would do the same for her,’ he said. ‘As much as I wanted her to keep safe, we presumed if I had it, the likelihood she would have it too, we calculated that risk,’ he went on.
‘When something like this is going on in the world, love is all you can get, who am I to turn down my wife’s support?’
The British actor, who wed his wife in 2019, urged his followers to spread love and advised families to follow guidelines but do what works best for them.
Elsewhere in the Tuesday night video, the father-of-two appeared to confirm he had contracted the virus from Canadian Prime Minister’s wife Justin Trudeau Sophie, 44, after the two met shortly before they both tested positive for COVID-19.
The actor revealed that he was exposed to the deadly disease on March 4, the same day he posed with Sophie at the We Day UK charity event, in Wembley.
Celebrity interview: In an interview on Winfrey’s new Apple TV+ series Oprah Talks, the couple opened up about being quarantined together in New Mexico
Idris said: ‘It’s hard to say when I got the disease or when I contracted COVID-19, it’s hard to say when. I will say that I know I’ve been exposed to it from March 4.
‘That’s when the person that came up positive, that was the time I got in contact with that person.
‘So essentially, I could have been positive from March 4, but it’s hard to say when I contracted someone with corona, you can contract it at anytime but my known exposure was March 4.’
Idris then addressed backlash as to why he was tested for COVID-19 after he had ‘no symptoms’ and ‘felt ok’.
Idris said he was on location and about to start filming, he added: ‘It was definitely something I had to do as I was about to start filming and be around a lot of people.’
Opening up: Idris said he was on location and about to start filming, he added: ‘It was definitely something I had to do as I was about to start filming and be around a lot of people’
‘My job made me test immediately, I had to test anyway, as it meant I was putting a lot of people at risk if I had been exposed. We were lucky to get a test very quickly because of the shortages of the test.
Although the star admitted that he is worried as he suffers from asthma, he added: ‘I have asthma, so I sort of fit into the high category of most at risk.
‘I have a respiratory issue and I have had asthma all my life. Catching corona was definitely not on my bucket list at all but even my asthma is OK.
‘Of course I’m worried. I’m worried about having the virus, I’m worried about having asthma and how that could make things really complicated for me really quickly.’
He reassured his followers that at present he is feeling fine, explaining: ‘Right now though, I am feeling okay. Woke up this morning, didn’t have any symptoms. My voice is a little tired…checking my fever twice a day. Feel good, feel okay. Been doing a lot of reading about it. You know, asymptomatic is what comes up,’ Idris explained about his status.
Idris revealed he was inspired to share his coronavirus story after fellow actor Tom Hanks revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19.