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‘If You’re Not Happy, Leave’: Idris Elba Opens Up About ‘Tantrums’ He Used to Have When He Began Dating His Wife and How He Overcame Them

Idris Elba’s wife, Sabrina Dhowre, is a true ride or die, and the whole world got a glimpse of that last year when Dhowre revealed she would not quarantine herself from her husband after it was confirmed he contracted coronavirus. Days after the confirmation, Dhowre herself revealed she, too, got the virus.

Fast forward to a year later, and now Elba is getting candid about the early dating days with his now-wife, and apparently everything was not all peaches and cream. In a recent episode of their podcast “Coupledom,” Elba opened up about the outbursts he had when he was dating Dhowre.

Idris Elba and his wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba discuss the hardships they faced during their early days of dating. (Photo: @sabrinaelba/Instagram)

“Sabrina and I, very early in our relationship, I was very stressed so I had these massive anger tantrums that were like explosions,” the “No Good Deed” actor started. He said Dhowre, 32, would respond asking “‘Who are you’” and his reaction to those statements were “‘Hey, if you’re not happy, leave. Move.’”

The 48-year-old blamed his tantrums on his “male instinct,” but credited his wife for being the reason why they were able to reconcile after their fights. “Sabrina and I both have strong personalities,” he said, “and typically it’s Sabrina who says, ‘Look, I don’t want to fight.’ ”

While revealing that he’s worked on his anger, he said he’s “been getting better at it recently,” however, he also said Dhowre doesn’t seem to acknowledge that he’s getting better. The “Obsessed” actor said, “When I do it, I get nothing back. When she does it, I go, ‘Thank you.’ ”

Despite sharing that difficult time in their lives, there seemed to be no love lost between the two. After two years of dating, they got married in Morocco in 2019. “Idris is my best friend,” the model said. “I want to be around this guy every day of my life, so it’s really great to be able to see what that morphs into.”

Elba added, “I’d say we’re in a good place. It was a challenging year, but ultimately, when you look to the side, and you’ve got someone that’s been there, ride or die, that’s really comforting.”

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