BY Lolade Olu-Ojegbeje
An unreserved opinion people have about celebrities is that their lives are plastic. They are always on the brink of scandals, with their relationships and marriages frequently making headlines for all the wrong reasons, from Kanye West to Davido, the bad PR knows no bounds.
The Nigerian society is highly cultural and the lives of celebrities bothering on morals and marriage are heavily policed.
Recently, Bolanle Ninalowo was in the news for not too good reasons. On September 1, the actor announced the end of his 16 year old marriage to his wife Bunmi, without clearly stating reasons for the split. The two had first separated in 2017 over cheating allegations but reunited in 2018.
The separation of Ninalowo from his wife, Bunmi, has sparked conversations about the instability of celebrity marriages, and people are reacting to their split, questioning the reasons behind the fragility of such unions.
“Heartbroken but not shattered: Actor, Nino B Declares as Marriage Ends
A popular X (Twitter) influencer,
@Irunnia expressed surprise over the split writing; “Still don’t understand why these celebrities’ marriages break left and right. They really looked sold to me. It is well.”
Another X user,
@Olakunle Apara, expressing concern for the children wrote; “The way celebrity marriages crash…So what happens to the kids? The split will definitely affect them….”
However, this marks one of several celebrity marriages that have come to an end in 2023.
TIMELINE OF NIGERIAN CELEBRITY MARRIAGE BREAK-UPS IN 2023
YOMI GOLD
In January, Actor, Yomi Alore, popularly known as Yomi Gold, announced the end of his second marriage to his wife, Ameenah. Yomi Gold had ended his first marriage in 2019 and remarried Ameenah in 2022. However, the two parted ways after one year.
BRED
Adebayo Adeleke ( BRed), a Nigerian artiste, also Davido’s cousin, had a rather messy split with his wife, Faith Johnson in August 2023. Their marriage hit rock bottom over allegations of abuse and cheating. Their split aroused public attention as they took to social media to reveal BRed,s alledged infidelity and hurl insults at each other.
DEMOLA ODULAJA AND FARIDA SOBOWALE
On August 17, Farida Sobowale, a Lagos socialite, was rescued from jumping off the Third Mainland bridge in an attempt to end her life. Sobowale would later explain that frustrations from her failed marriage made her consider suicide.
She then apologized to her children for putting them in a difficult situation. Sobowale had married Demola Odulaja in a grand wedding, she claimed had cost a hundred million naira. However, the marriage collapsed within two months, prompting her to end her life. Sobowale’s story is just one of the many celebrity and non-celebrity marriage break-ups in Nigeria and her attempt on her own life is one of the many effects.
ISRAEL DMW
On September 3, a blog alleged that the marriage of Israel Afeare, popularly known as Israel DMW and his wife, Sheila David, had hit the rocks. The blog alleged that the two parted ways over allegations of infidelity and domestic violence. The blog also added that Sheila had left the house and her bride price had been returned. Fans have also reacted to social media photos and videos of Sheila in which she was not wearing her wedding ring. However, Israel DMW has responded to the news making rounds, saying that anyone who chose to believe the blog’s stories about his marriage were on their own.
BOLANLE NINALOWO AND BUNMI
The latest surprising development involved actor Bolanle Ninalowo, also known as Nino B, revealing that his marriage has ended. While he didn’t provide details regarding the separation, his social media posts suggest he’s in good spirits.
This couple share two children.
Again, the age-long question of why celebrities end their marriages comes up. Although a number of reasons have been attributed as the causes of these marriage break-ups, the frequency of their occurrence may be pointer to the rate at which marriages are failing all over the world. Because the affairs of celebrities are public knowledge, it is easier to detect a crack in their homes and personal lives.
However, an uncomfortable pattern that pervades the end of celebrity marriages is allegations of infidelity. Between 2021 and 2023, at least nine celebrities across the music and film industry were reported to have cheated on their partners.
The Demise of Love: Exploring Irreconcilable Differences in Marriage
Folu Timilehin, a wife and mother, told Top Society that the public exposure of celebrities makes their marriage vulnerable.
“The lack of privacy affects their marital and family life. It is almost impossible for them to live their lives away from the public. And this affects their perception of their spouses.”
She also said a lot of other problems celebrities have come from their public lifestyle.
“Their over exposure to the public forces them to try to sustain a fake life which greatly threatens the unity of any marriage.”
SHOULD WE BE WORRIED?
All over the world, celebrities have significant impact on the population, especially the youth population. A lot of people model their lifestyle after celebrities. This is why celebrity advertising remains one of the most common approach to marketing and advertising. Celebrities rub off on, even, the population’s consumer choices.
Nigerian celebrities belong in this circle of influence. Every day, their lifestyle and choices affect some random teenager on the streets of Lagos or a town Abeokuta– Their influence cannot be underestimated. It then becomes a point of concern when negative patterns are observed as a part of their lives. Nigerian Youths who have modeled their lives after celebrities could be easily swayed into the lies of their imperfect-make-look-perfect world.
Damilola Oluwanifesimi, a Nigerian student, tells Top Society that the frequent break up of celebrity marriages has a dangerous potential of influencing how youths view marriage.
“When celebrities get divorced or break up, it can have a significant impact on young people who look up to them. As a young person who views celebrities as role models, when I see my favorite celebrities’ relationships fall apart, it can be confusing and disheartening,” she says.
Oluwanifesimi expressed worry that this may influence a culture of easy divorce among youths.
“It can then case the idea of divorce to become normal. Youths may start to doubt the possibility of finding lasting love and this can be especially detrimental to the society.”
Before the year runs out, social media may unfortunately learn about the end of another celebrity marriage. Celebrities and those who look up to them should however learn how to model good examples and manage projections about people they look up to.