While the last thing couples want to think about is breaking up, the sad reality is that it happens a lot; and it’s a big deal. Moreover, it’s a bigger deal if it involves our favourite celebrity couples. When these couples breakup, it comes as a shock to their fans. However, these couples were so adorable, we couldn’t help but feel crushed when they split. From Gbenro Ajibade and Osas Ighodaro to Damilola Adegbite and Chris Attoh, these celebrity splits had us shaking our heads and questioning love.
Let’s take a look at some shocking breakups of famous Nigerian celebrity couples.
Lilian Esoro and Ubi Franklin
Remember the lavish wedding between Music executive, Ubi Franklin and Lilian Esoro Aka “Nurse Abigail” in the popular TV series, Clinic Matters? Let’s refresh your memory.
Franklin and Esoro seemed like the perfect couple, from their adorable pre-wedding shoot that moved us into the realms of fantasy; we had a cute man from the music industry and a beautiful lady from the film industry- a perfect match, so we thought.
Despite sharing a son, Jayden, the pair who tied the knot in November 2015 got separated a year later. The breakup stems from infidelity on the wife’s part and domestic violence from the husband.
It was rumoured that the icing on the cake surrounding Esoro‘s exit from the marriage was when she allegedly discovered Franklin had gone broke.
Then the question came, why spend millions of naira on a wedding to split up four months after the birth of your son?
Franklin’s Interview
Franklin revealed that the biggest money mistake he has ever made is the money he plunged into having a huge wedding celebration. He said:
“I think the biggest money mistake for me was the money for my wedding. That was the biggest money mistake because a few guys that had experience at the time told me to just do something small and then go home. When I see people do big scale wedding, I laugh because it’s a party. Its is just for a day and when that day is done, it’s done. Yes they say memories but you see, you can create memories without spending billions. So I think that is one of the biggest money mistake I have made’. If I had known, I would have done something smaller, classier than what I did because I did like almost three months of different events.”
However, Ubi Franklin is still legally married to Lilian Esoro, even though they are separated. The Judge presiding over their divorce proceedings stated that their request for divorce lacks strong grounds to be taken seriously. He advised them to sort their differences.
Further, their son, Jayden is Franklin‘s second child and only son. Franklin currently has four baby mamas.
Damilola Adegbite and Chris Attoh
Tinsel stars, Damilola Adegbite and Chris Attoh had the Nigerian-Ghanaian wedding that had everyone smiling, even though it was low-key.
The pair captured our hearts with their public appearance and roles together in the popular TV series, Tinsel. They got engaged in August 2014, married in a private ceremony on February 2015 and had a son, Brain.
Adegbite and Attoh were a match made in heaven for Tinsel fans , but suddenly announced their split in 2017. Not much is known about the circumstances of the split, but their marriage lasted for only two years.
Recall that Attoh had boasted of how lucky he was to find a hot Nigerian woman (Damilola). He revealed at the time that the main attraction between them; was the fact that their birthdays were one day apart. Attoh‘s birthday is May 17 and Adegbite, May 18.
However, Attoh went ahead to marry US based Jenifer Bettie at a private ceremony in Accra in October 2018. This was shortly after divorcing the Nigerian actress.
Sadly, Bettie was shot in the head by a gunman in May 2019. She was pronounced dead when police arrived at the scene of the crime.
Just recently, Adegbite shared a word of advice to single ladies in celebration of Valentine’s day.
She wrote: “Fun fact: I got married on this day 5 years ago.
Dear Single Lady, What is coming is better than what is gone. Be excited about the future. Just imagine all the possibilities. Not everyone gets a second chance. I wonder what my next boyfriend is doing now.”
Gbenro Ajibade and Osas Ighodaro
Gbenro Ajibade and Osas Ighodaro seemed like a couple who would truly go the distance.
They were much talked about as Ajibade was a TV darling on Tinsel and Ighodaro was the Miss Black USA 2010 beauty queen who played the role of Adanna (Danni) on Tinsel; and when they got engaged and married in June 2015, the tabloids went crazy. However, another Tinsel love roller coaster came crashing.
Breakup rumors plagued the couple during nearly their entire marriage, so it made their split in October 2018 all the more surprising — because it was true. Ajibade fell into the bad books of some Nigerians when he called out his wife, on social media. The topic was about her supposed abandonment of their daughter while she partied.
The couple has also been vocal about wanting to be co-parents to their daughter.
In November 2019, Ajibade disclosed he still loves and respects his ex-wife despite the fact that their marriage didn’t work out.
Ajibade said: “I still have a good relationship with her (Osas); it’s still good. We are still good, regardless.” He was further attacked for marrying the US citizen for her green card. Refuting the claim, he said:
“If it was about that, I won’t go through all that process, do a traditional marriage, involve families, do a white wedding in New York.
“Do you know how much I spent?…it was way far from that. That just popped up when we started having kids and it was the next thing up.”
Mofe Duncan and Jessica Kakkad
Imagine the shock when fans woke up to the news, “Three-year-old marriage of Nollywood actor, Mofe Duncan, to his Indian wife, Jessica Kakkad, has crashed.”
The pair tied the knot in 2015 in a very beautiful ceremony which was attended by popular faces in the entertainment industry.
According to a leaked chat in 2016 by Instablog9ja, the actor was flirting via Instagram DM with a lady. The lady tells Duncan that she would rape him black and blue while the actor in return paid compliments on her huge breasts.
Moment after the chat got released, Duncan and his wife took to Instagram to show support for each other, slamming reports of marital problems.
Surprisingly, their break up has been shockingly drama-free. There’s no long dramatic story. However, Duncan looks like he is ready for something new as he announced after a year of his divorce that he is now dating a white lady on valentine’s day.
He wrote:
“I was afraid. I’ve been here before. It hurt. I tried to heal it. It hurt the more. Then I gave up. The world laughed. I cried. God listened. God willed it. The Universe provided. I accepted. You approved. I’m not afraid. Not anymore. J.A.G. HER. #HappyValentinesDay“
His ex-wife, Jessica Kakkad, also commented on the Valentine’s Day Instagram post. She wrote:
“She’s beautiful, Happy Valentines Day Guys.”
Duncan and Kakkad have no children together.
Blossom Chukwujekwu and Maureen Esisi
This wound is still fresh! According to reports, in October 2019, the A-list actor moved out of his matrimonial home and also informed his wife’s family that he is no longer interested in the marriage.
It was also reported that the actor and his family members have blocked Esisi on all social media platforms, including WhatsApp.
It is not clear the reason behind the rumoured crash of this once admired marriage but there are speculations that the actor is still in a romantic relationship with his former actress girlfriend.
They have both asked for privacy and have since been notoriously private about their relationship. The couple who have no kids got married in October 2016 . Their wedding saw the best of Nigerian entertainers. From Uti Nwachukwu who was the best man to RMD, Adesua Etomi, Wole Ojo, Linda Ejiofor, Ufoma McDermott and many more.
Nicely written
Thank you for reading.