Celebrity marriages: The good, the bad and the ugly in Nigeria

Tiwa Savage
Popular songstress, Tiwa Savage’s marriage may have hit the rocks after her ex- manager and hubby, Tunji Balogun, aka Tee Billz had a meltdown on Twitter, as he revealed that his marriage to the singer was over because, according to him,

despite he investing so much in her career, she wasn’t doing her duties as a wife and as she placed her musical career before above  their home, among other things.

But Tiwa defended herself in an interview onPulse TV where she revealed that the marriage had been over for some months now. She said: “It’s finally over. It’s been over for a while and I’ve covered up for a while. I think what happened is divine because God made it easy for me to walk away because of what he did on social media where he got so many people angry. He called so many innocent names, he dragged many people, including his own family into it. So if I was to consider to make it work a lot of people will warn me that if it happens again I can’t come back crying. So he’s made it easy for me to finally walk away”

Affirming that she will not keep their son away from him, she said “I’ll never stop him from seeing Jamil, never! But the only thing I’ll promise myself is to bring up my son to be a good man.’’

‘‘Till now I don’t wish anything bad on him, even when he was abusing me. First I was and still I’m concerned about him because I’m worried he might see this interview and trigger something else or lead him to do something bad but I don’t wish that for him.”

‘‘The honest truth is that for the past two months, TJ and I have not been together. And it was something that we were trying to work through but for me I knew that this marriage wasn’t going to work. It’s been like that for the past two months, I didn’t know if I should post and keep up appearances or if I should face reality,” Tiwa said.

Funke Akindele

It was a shocker when in the early hours of Monday, July 15, 2013, it was widely reported that actress Funke Akindele and her husband Kehinde Almaroof Oloyede were no longer together, after one year of being a couple.

Reports revealed that the estranged couple’s problems started months after the marriage  and got to its peak when Oloyede announced the split via Facebook. He wrote: “It’s with heavy heart that I am announcing the separation of me and my wife, Mrs Olufunke Akindele, we’ve both agreed to go our separate ways ‘cos of irreconcilable differences. We are still best of friends and will forever remain good friends. I am doing just fine, getting along without you, I don’t need you anymore in my life. You are the greatest mistake I have made in recent time,” He told his ex-wife.The actress, who tried to coverup the issue has been living a very private life. She however moved on with her life and has produced a successful Tv series, Jenifa’s Diaries.’

It is however not clear when she will remarry, but Saturday Tribune gathered that she is currently dating popular musician, JJC.

Toyin Aimakhu

Star Yoruba actress, Toyin Aimakhu got married to Adeniyi Johnson in 2013.The actress, however, has since moved out of her home due to allegations of infidelity on the part of her husband who confessed and asked fans to plead with Toyin to return home.

Her second marriage to film producer, Seun Egbegbe, which was contacted few months after her two-year  marriage to Johnson ended has also since packed up. Speaking in a recent interview with Fashion Buzz TV, Aimakhu revealed that she did not know if she will get married again as she was still suffering from trauma of her previous bitter experience.

On possible remarriage, she stated:  ‘I don’t think so because the truth is, I have trauma. I am even scared right now. All I need now is God and the holy spirit to help me because the truth is I’m still in trauma. I am scared. I don’t think I can even love again. I am scared to love. I am over it but I can t be healed. There is no point lying about it. There are some things you can’t lie about. I hope I would be healed,’ she said.

Chika Ike

On her part, Nollywood actress, Chika Ike, expained that if a marriage is not working out, one should quit lying and pretending. Speaking on a TV show, Rubbing minds, Chika Ike spoke about her crashed marriage.

“Well, you get to a point in your life where you have to stop lying to yourself, you have to come terms with your person and tell yourself the truth. If it’s something that is working, it’s working and if it’s not, it’s not. I believe in something, I believe happiness is everything to me so I just had to take that decision because it wasn’t working and I just thought I should tell myself the truth,’’ she said.

Uche Jombo

The popular actress who is married to Kenny Rodriguez, maintains that her husband is also her rock. On Twitter, she wrote: “Whenever I look back, I am amazed at the little things that conspired to bring us together. like pieces of a puzzle, fate put everything together at exactly the right moment, in that one moment, it became our moment; cheering each other, through the laughter,  pain, the joy, the sadness, you are a constant rock! Happy. I hope and pray to have many more wonderful years together.”

Mercy Johnson

When Mercy Johnson got married to her beau in 2012, not many knew what was going to become of their marriage, but four years after, Mercy is still basking in the euphoria of the marriage to Prince Odianosen Okojie.

The mother of three took to social media to thank God for her husband, saying:  “Lord,wherever my sense of reasoning is, please don’t ever let me have it because love, passion and happiness were nothing but words. these words got value since I met you (Odi). I was made from ur love. I was alive but now I am living. I forget my face in the mirror but I can’t forget yours. We are not perfect but we are happy and that’s all that matters. I love you sexiest and thank you for taking my senses because I am glad to be madly in love with you.”

Omotola Jalade- Ekeinde

For Nollywood actress, Omotola, Jalade-Ekeinde marriage is not a bed of roses. In an earlier interview, she had stated that marriage should be based on understanding.

According to her, marriage is really hard and one needs  to feel extremely secure.

‘‘You have to be extremely confident and trust each other. There are so many things to deal with, especially in this environment where some people just thrive on hurting other people. The weird part is that you cannot believe that people are capable of such wickedness.’’

‘‘You are sane and cannot believe other people are insane. These are the things that cause break-ups in celebrity marriages. A lot of people are talking and saying nasty things that are not true. It is just as if there is a gang up to break you up once they know you are a celebrity or in a relationship. Most times, they are all lies! Celebrity lifestyle gossip is getting to a point where they are getting close to your kids and family. They try to put your relationship in jeopardy. Then, petty things that wouldn’t cause any problems become issues. I hope there would be legislation that will protect families.”

Omotola, who just celebrated her 20th wedding anniversary, said she was lucky to be married to her husband, Captain Ekeinde. She declared ‘‘Happy anniversary to us. It is a pleasure experiencing life with you. I might just be the luckiest girl in the world.’’

Stephanie Linus

Nollywood actress Stephanie Linus and her husband Linus Idahosa who have been married for three years, were blessed with a baby boy in December last year.

Stephanie who never ceases to thank her ever supportive husband had this to say during their third wedding anniversary: “Happy Wedding Anniversary to my amazing husband, you are one in a million.

‘‘I will marry you over and over again. I thank God everyday for this amazing life we share. Always your baby.’’

Uche Ogbodo

For Nollywood actress, Uche Ogbodo,  marriage was full of lies. Speaking in an interview with a newspaper last year, she said “My marriage was full of lies. I cannot tell you in detail what those lies were, if that’s what you’re trying to make me do, it’s a pity it didn’t work out. I didn’t go into the marriage to crash it.’’

‘‘I wanted a family; I wanted a loving home and a loving husband. That was why I went into it in the first place but as nature would have it, I didn’t get any of those. I still thank God my head is intact.”

She continued “you cannot build a home on sinking sand. You need to build a home on a rock. What I mean is that a marriage built on deceit and lies is no marriage at all. If you want a solid marriage, it must be built on honesty and trustworthiness. If not, it’s definitely going to crash. If it doesn’t crash today, it will crash tomorrow, so the lies are my reasons.

Princess (comedian)

For popular comedian, Princess, marriage was not a good experience as it lasted for a month before it crashed. In a recent interview, (not with Tribune) she described the divorce as a sad thing which shouldn’t be celebrated,  ‘‘I don’t think you should call him my ex-husband because we were together for less than one month. An ex- husband is somebody you marry and after three years or more, you separate. Anyway, I don’t know where he is. We have moved on,’’ she said.

She blamed the divorce on differences, stating that contrary to popular opinion, they both were in love before the union, ‘‘It was due to irreconcilable differences. I got married to somebody who I was in love with. At that time, he also said he loved me. Unfortunately, the marriage ended too soon.’’

Asked if she would get married again, she says, ‘No! Me ke? Let us struggle first and make some money. In any case, I think I should marry a Chinese or an Indian. If many people agree that I should marry a Chinese, then I will go ahead. But a Japanese might be better. Japanese products are strong and reliable’

Princess, whose real name is Damilola Adekoya got married to Joshua on May 8, 2013 and divorced weeks after.

TuFace Idibia

Innocent Idibia, aka  2face and his wife Annie Idibia got married in Dubai in 2013. The couple who have been together since Annie was a teenager, have been through different stages of break ups, yet are  still stuck together.

2Face recently celebrated his third anniversary to his wife and  acknowledged that he was lucky to have her in his life. He wrote: “My queen. I salute u. You are beautiful baby and I’m so lucky to have you  in my life. cheers to us baby and may God give us the strength and wisdom to grow old together.’’

In return, Annie showered encomiums on her husband through Instagram, saying: ‘‘You are truth baby. You are my rock, my strength, My protector, my defender, and yes, I will never leave you. It still amazes me how my heart skips when you walk in a room or when you smile at me and how I still get goose bumps when you hold me in your arms. Thanks for all the sleepless nights. You work so hard to make sure I never lack. Thank you for all the love you teach and for keeping our dreams alive, and for loving this imperfect girl perfectly.’’