Nigerian Celebrities Who Battled Marriage Crisis

Like any other individual, celebrities also have an equal share of love affairs that turn sour and heartbroken relationships owing to infidelity, domestic violence, and many more.

But there are a lot of them who are able to pick up the pieces and made lemonade out of lemon by finding a new love interest in order to move on with their lives.

In this article, New Telegraph would be considering Celebrities who found love again after failed marriages or are yet to find love.

• Funke Akindele

Veteran Nigerian actress, Movie producer, and film director cum politician, Funke Akindele, popularly known as ‘Jenifa’ for her comedy series also have tales of broken marriages.

The renowned script writer got married in May 2012 to Adeola Kehinde Oloyede which happens to be her first marriage. But one year along the line the couple divorced in July 2013, citing irreconcilable differences.

Years after, the 45-year-old actress found love again and married Nigerian songwriter and TV producer,  Abdul-Rasheed Bello, better known as JJC Skillz, a divorcee in  London in May 2016.

Following a prophecy that she can not birth a child, her pregnancy rumours were among the top searched results on Google search engine in August 2017.

The ace actress gave birth to twin boys in December 2018 but has several step-children.

The couple who are known for sharing cute pictures of themselves on special occasions and festivities surprisingly announced the end of the union after six years.

It would be recalled that JJC Skillz took to her official Instagram page on June 30, 2022, to announce the break-up between him and the popular actress.

• Mercy Aigbe

Famous Nollywood actress, movie director, and businesswoman, Mercy Aigbe is best known for her Yoruba indigenous movies.

It would be recalled that In 2013, Aigbe first married a Nigerian hotelier, Lanre Gentry, who hails from Osun State and has two children with him.

However, In 2017, the Union crashed owing to alleged domestic violence and infidelity.

The 45-year-old actress accused his husband, Gentry of being irresponsible after sharing photos of herself being assaulted by her husband.

Following the marriage crash, the actress started a campaign against domestic violence.

The actress recently announced her conversion to Islam with a new name, Meenah weeks after announcing her marriage to her ex-husband’s friend, Kazim Adeoti, a wealthy Yoruba filmmaker and businessman.

She now prefers to be addressed as Hajia Meenah Mercy Adeoti.

• Iyabo Ojo

Alice Iyabo Ojo is a Nigerian actress, director, producer, and businesswoman known for her epic role in the Real Housewives of Lagos.

The 45-year-old proud mother of two is known for her war against sexual abuse and activism for gender equality. But despite her intellect, beauty, and fame, marriage seems to be her ordeal.

In 1999, the Nollywood actress got married to a Lagos-based Clearing Agent at 21. In that same year, she gave birth to a son and a daughter 2001 namely Felix Ojo and Priscilla Ajoke Ojo.

During this period, the business mogul took a break from pursuing her career to stabilize her marriage.

Unfortunately, the actress later got divorced, and claimed she attributed the breakup of her first marriage to marrying too young and intended to stop using her former husband’s surname. Ojo,

She has also confirmed recently to be in a relationship with Paulo Okoye, the showbiz promoter.

• Tonto Dikeh

Controversial Nollywood actress, and humanitarian turn politician, Tonto Charity Dikeh, popularly called King Tonto first got married in 2015 to famous Nigerian businessman, Olakunle Churchill and they both had a son together in 2016.

But in 2017, the 37-year-old songwriter who set up his foundation ‘Tonto Dikeh Foundation’ on August 27, 2000, got divorced.

Just two years after getting married in 2015, Tonto and Churchill split up due to domestic violence and extramarital affairs as she also accused his husband of being irresponsible.

After the divorce from his estranged husband, Churchill, Tonto found love again with a politician, Prince Joseph Kpokpogri but got scattered months later which shows that she wasn’t lucky with love.

Recall that his estranged lover, Kpokpogri, in September 2021 sued her and the Department of State Security (DSS) in court for allegedly threatening his fundamental human rights.

According to him, he left Tonto because of her hard smoking and bad drinking habit.

• JJC Skillz

  Abdul Rasheed Bello, better known as JJC Skillz is a Nigerian songwriter, rapper, record label, and television producer. He earned recognition in Nigeria after the release of his single, ‘We Are Africans, an Afrobeats anthem.

  Bello who was a divorcee before getting married to ace actress, Funke Akindele in May 2016 in London is a father of three children from three different mothers.

  In 2018, the couple gave birth to a set of twins, making him a father of four from separate mothers.

  Surprisingly, in June 2022, Bello shockingly announced via his official Instagram page that he and Funke Akindele had decided to pursue their lives separately.

  This, however, led to mixed reactions on social media as fans took to his comment section to react to the sudden breakup. While some blamed Funke for the development, others see it from a different perspective.

As usual, barely nine months after JJC Skillz parted ways with the Nollywood actress, the producer found love again as he tied the knot with his newfound Ebira bride in a private wedding in Kano State.

However, the producer most publicised marriage was with Funke Akindele, the former Deputy Governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State during the 2023 elections.

JJC Skillz and Akindele also collaborated in film production.

• Carolina Hutching Danjuma

Another famous Nigerian actress, Carolyna Hutchings known previously as Caroline Danjuma and Caroline Ekanem.

The 35-year-old screen diva made her screen debut in 2004, starring in some of Chico Ejiro’s popular films.

Hutchings married Musa Danjuma, a billionaire business mogul and a lawyer in 2007.

The couple has two sons and a daughter but they divorced in 2016 due to infidelity and domestic violence.

Years after her divorce, the actress confirmed she has found love again and is currently in a relationship.

• Tiwa savage

A multi-dimensional singer and songwriter who has featured in a lot of international music albums, Tiwatope Savage, professionally known as Tiwa Savage is also among Nigerian celebrities who have battled the marriage crisis.

The ace singer and self-acclaimed the Queen of Afrobeats is an indigene of Isale Eko in Lagos Nigeria.

It is no longer news that the music diva relocated from London after her education to finally pick up her musical career after she traveled out at the age of 11 years.

Tiwa married her estranged husband, Tunji  Balogun, better known as “Tee Billz” on November 23, 2013.

They first got married traditionally at the heart of Lagos Island, Ark in Lekki to be precise and finally walk the isle on the 26th of April 2014 at the Armani Hotel in Dubai.

Her wedding was the talk of the town then and years later the union was blessed with a son, Jamil Balogun who was born on July 22, 2016.

But down the line, her husband, Tee Billz accused Tiwa of infidelity and his mother-in-law of witchcraft.

In a 45-minute video that emerged on social media, the mother of one extensively addressed her husband’s lengthy social media posts regarding their marriage in an interview conducted by This Day.

The 43- year-old Afrobeats star debunked her husband’s infidelity claims and accused him of financial recklessness, drug addiction, and abandonment.

She, however, announced that her marriage to him was over.

• Paul Okoye

Popular Nigerian singer and songwriter, Paul Okoye, better known as Rudeboy rose to fame in the 2000s as a member of the P-square duo with his identical twin brother Peter Okoye.

The 41-year-old singer was first married to Anita Isama On 22nd March 2014, in Port Harcourt, River State Capital whom he met in 2004 during his studies at the University of Abuja.

Their union produced three children who were delivered in Atlanta Georgia and the United States. Andre, the first child was born in 2013 and the twins, Nathan and Nadia, were born in 2017.

But three years later, Paul Okoye estranged wife who bagged an MFA in Luxury and Brand Management at Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, USA, brought five allegations against him in 2021.

During the divorce proceedings in August 2021, she accused him of “infidelity, alleged separation, absentee parenting, fraud, and painful experiences after which the marriage was dissolved.

However,  the singer who had moved on with his life announced late last year to have found love, as the father of three flaunts his new lover on his IG page.

After the official unveiling of her newfound love on his verified social media pages on December 11, 2022, their love life has been the talk of many to date.

• Toke Makinwa

Toke Makinwa is a Nigerian On-Air Personality (OAP), Television host, vlogger, lifestyle entrepreneur, actress, and author who lost both parents to a gas explosion at the age of 8 years.

Toke who got married on January 15, 2014, divorced about a year later after discovering that her husband, Maje Ayida had impregnated her ex-girlfriend.

She separated from Ayida in 2015  after the lover birds had courted for eight years before walking down the aisle.

Toke filed for a divorce and the marriage to Ayida was dissolved on 5 October 2017, by a Lagos High Court on the grounds that Ayida committed adultery.

Ever since then, the actress hasn’t found love again until recently she hinted she wants to settle down and have kids sooner this year.

• Basket mouth

Bright Okpocha, better known by his stage name Basketmouth, is a Nigerian comedian and actor who has organized a lot of stand-up comedy concerts like Basketmouth Uncensored across the globe.

In November 2010, Basketmouth married his longtime girlfriend, Elsie in Lagos, Nigeria, and the union was blessed with three children.

But recently, the comic actor took to her official Instagram. page in December 2022 announced l that he and his wife were getting a divorce after twelve years of being married.

The 44-year-old comedian and actor, however, did not disclose the reason behind the move to divorce each other.

• Rukayya Dawayya

Rukayya Umar Santa is the daughter of a wealthy businessman popularly known as Rukayya Dawayya, a sensational Kannywood actress.

She was born in Kano State in 1985 and made her first debut in the Kannywood industry in the year 2000.

The first film she featured in “Dawayya” gave her the stage name.

Since then Dawayya has been featured in more than 150 movies, making her one of the greatest actresses in the northern Nigeria film industry.

Dawayya also had a taste of divorce in 2014 after she got married in 2012 and bore her first son in Saudi Arabia.

But in 2022 the famous Kannywood actress found a new love which is the Executive Director of the Kano State Censorship Board, Sama’ila Na’abba Afakallah.

The wedding of Fatiha took place at Tinshama Friday mosque. There had been some rumours that the duo was secretly dating.