The entertainment industry is endowed with talented actors, singers, comedians and other amazing performers, and with their crafts, they have won the hearts of Nigerians.
Besides their profession, their family lives are parts of the beautiful things that augment their statuses, but, sadly some of them have issues with their marriages.
Here are a few marriages of the celebrities that crashed and the reasons behind them.
1. Bolanle Ninalowo
Popular Nollywood actor, Bolanle Ninalowo announced on Friday that he had parted ways with his wife, Bunmi.
Raised in Chicago, the United States, the handsome and talented thespian relocated to Nigeria with his family.
Their marriage of 16 years, however, ended on Friday, when Ninalowo announced it as a sad reality.
Ninalowo, in a statement posted via his Instagram page, said he admitted that it was a sad reality for him and his children.
”A sad reality I prayed, nurtured and worked tirelessly hard never to experience for the sake of all. My wife and I have decided to go our separate ways and headed for an irreconcilable marriage dissolution,” Ninalowo said.
2. Funke Akindele
Funke Akindele is a Nigerian multiple award-winning actress and film producer. The talented actress was married to a Lagos politician, Kehinde Oloyede in May 2012 and separated a year later in July 2013.
Funke Akindele also popularly known as Jenifa said her marriage with Oloyede did not work out and had to wait for three years before going to another marriage.
Akindele married Abdul Bello, a Nigerian songwriter and rapper in May 2016, but the world woke up to the shocking news on June 30, 2022, that the marriage has crashed.
Bello popularly known as JJC Skillz made the announcement himself on his Instagram handle on Friday morning.
JJC Skillz said: “Dear Friends and family, I need to let you know that Funke and I have separated. While it lasted, we shared many things and have created two beautiful children”, his post read. “The last two years have been tough for us. I have tried my best to fix things, but I believe it is beyond repair now.”
3. Toke Makinwa
Tope Makinwa is a Nigerian celebrated radio personality, television host, singer and author.
She tied the knot with Maje Ayida, a professional fitness coach on January 15, 2014. The marriage started having issues, thus separating them in 2015 and eventually led to divorce in October 2017.
After Toke had filed a divorce in 2016, an Igbosere High Court in Lagos dissolved their marriage on the basis of extra-marital affairs committed on the part of Ayida.
Toke also told the court that her ex-husband cheated with his mistress, Anita Solomon, in an affair that produced a child.
She added that since they got married her husband had “behaved in a way she could not reasonably be expected to continue to bear.”
4. Mercy Aigbe
Mercy Aigbe is a Nigerian actress, film producer, fashionista and businesswoman. She and Lanre Gentry, an entrepreneur got married on 19th December, 2013.
Aigbe and Gentry first separated in 2017 and later got divorced in 2019 with both of them laying claims to excuses.
While Gentry accused Aigbe of sleeping around, the latter blamed her ex-husband’s mother for the failure of the marriage.
The actress got married to Kazeem Adeoti, her alleged ex-husband’s friend this year.
Aigbe said this about her first marriage: “I had a bad experience the first time, so I had some reservations and I just wanted to face my career, even though I loved him. I was happy and scared at the same time. Then, I was young and naive. Now, I handle issues differently. Also, the major reason my first marriage failed was because my ex-husband’s mum did not want him to marry from another tribe.”
5. Yomi Gold
Yoruba actor and producer Yomi Alore aka Yomi Gold, announced the end of his second marriage to his wife, Meenah, in January 2023.
Gold took responsibility for the marriage crashing, tagging his wife, a ‘good person,’ while announcing the split.
6. Faridah Sobowale
Farida made headlines when news of her attempted suicide surfaced online.
The Lagos socialite attempted to end her life following the crash of her two-month-old marriage to her now-estranged husband, Demola Odulaja.
Odulaja, in an interview with Yoruba social commentator, ArewaTopeFamous, claimed Sobowale’s promiscuous way, was the reason the marriage ended.
7. Doris Simeon
The Lagos-based actress met her ex-husband, producer and director Daniel Ademinokan, also known as Da Bishop, on set. They got married and had a son together. Doris Simeon and her husband amicably parted ways in May 2013.
Da Bishop went on to marry actress Stella Damasus, which stirred a lot of controversy. However, Doris has since remained single, enjoying her life as a businesswoman running her successful salon.
8. Damilola Adegbite
Damilola Adegbite married Ghanaian actor Chris Attoh in Accra, Ghana, on 14 February 2015. The two met on the set of the soap opera Tinsel. The couple has one son together, Brian.
There was speculation about divorce when Adegbite unfollowed Chris Attoh and deleted his surname from her social media accounts. Attoh finally confirmed the rumours that they were divorced in September 2017 after two years of marriage.
9. Iyabo Ojo
Source: UGC
The actress married a Lagos-based clearing agent, Ademidun Ojo, in 1999 at 21. The couple had children, Festus and Priscilla before the marriage ended after only three years. Iyabo attributed the divorce to marrying too young and has stated that she intends to stop using her ex-husband’s name Ojo.
10. Ayo Adesanya
The veteran actress secretly got married in the early 2000s to Nollywood producer and actor Omogoriola Hassan. They have a son, Ireayomitide Adeniyi, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in 2004.
After over seven years together, the couple called it quits in 2008. In one of her interviews, the actress hinted that her former partner wasn’t mature enough to handle her success, which strained their relationship.
She was once rumoured to have dated Nigerian actor and singer Wasiu Alabi Pasuma. The actress debunked the rumour in April 2021 when she revealed that she was not dating anyone in the Nigerian entertainment industry.