We get caught up in the glitz, the glamour, the larger-than-life personas. We see them on screen, hear their voices through our headphones, and follow their every move online, analysing their latest social media posts. We spend hours obsessing over their careers, dissecting their every outfit choice.
Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that beneath the dazzling lights and camera smiles, celebrities are just like us. They are human beings with hearts that yearn for connection and love. Like Jordan Seacy rightly said ‘Everyone just wants to be in love.’
The path to love, however, isn’t always straightforward. Even more so for celebrities. The pressures of fame, demanding schedules, and the constant scrutiny of the public eye can make finding lasting love seem like an impossible feat. But some manage to overcome these challenges, finding their happily ever after, saying “I do” even after achieving stardom.
In this article, let’s take a look at five (5) Nigerian celebrity artists, who overcame these challenges, defiled the odds and built lasting partnerships after their careers soared, proving that love and fame can indeed coexist.
1. DAVIDO and CHIOMA (Chivido ‘24)
On the 25th of June 2024, the internet stood at a standstill. Davido was getting married to his long-term sweetheart, Chioma. There’s literally no corner of the internet where this event wasn’t trending, prominent individuals like Babajide Sanwolu, Victor Osimhen, Ooni of Ife, to mention a few, graced the event. Yes, it was that big. But that was the wedding, the love story started many years ago. There are no precise details as to how they met but Davido, in a 2023 interview, claimed he had known Chioma for 20 years and they grew up together. The Duo became public knowledge in 2015, when a picture of them emerged online, that was the same year Davido welcomed his first child and daughter Imade Adeleke with his baby mama, Sophia Momodu.
Fast forward to 2022, Davido has professed his love for Chioma in his song ‘Assurance,’ welcomed a son with her, went through the rumour of a breakup, and most sadly, lost the child. Through all this, Davido has always spoken about Chioma with an assured tone and in a classic case of whatever will be will be, it is safe to say that it was a matter of time before they got married. Congratulations to them.
2. ADEKUNLE GOLD and SIMI
In an interview, Simi disclosed that her husband’s initial attempts at getting to know her were unsuccessful.
It turns out Adekunle Gold had tried to get her attention by camping in her Facebook messages, which she did not see until several years later.
During this time, she had already released her gospel album and was making waves within the industry. Unknown to many, she started her musical career as a gospel singer, not as the secular artist she is now.
In a twist of fate, Simi and Adekunle met during a performance that she had around that time and hit it off. She revealed what he told her when they first met. According to the singer, her now-husband told her, “I’m such a fan.”
She added that even after they both got their big breaks, they decided to keep their relationship low-key at the time to ‘avoid the scrutiny of society’.
The famous Nigerian singer and songwriter revealed that she and Adekunle dated for five years before getting married. Apparently, they were in a relationship when everyone thought she and Falz had a thing going on after releasing songs like chemistry, soldier and foreign together.
Even when they tied the knot in 2019, it was very incognito, further backing up the fact that the couple loves their privacy. The wedding took place at Ilashe private beach, Lagos state.
3. 2 BABA and ANNIE IDIBIA
If “for better, for worse” was a woman, it would definitely be Annie, who has seen and heard it all, in her relationship with 2Face.
Annie, revealed that the only man she has ever had in her life, is her husband 2Face. According to her, she started her relationship with 2Baba when she was just a teen. She was 15, and at the time, 2face was not yet a star that he became years later. Before he became a star, their relationship was just okay and were good friends too. She revealed that she only woke up one morning to realise that her guy was already a global superstar. This is when their problems actually started.
She has been married to 2Face for over a decade, but worthy of note is the fact that despite her being the first woman in the singer’s life, she was not the first woman to have a child or children for her husband. As a matter of fact, 2Baba had four children with different women, before ever having one with Annie. Before getting married in 2012, Pero and Sumbo already had at least two children each for 2Face. In spite of all controversies that surrounded 2face’s career, Annie stood by him. What even shocked the world more, was when she renewed her vows with 2Baba during their 10th anniversary celebration. They married in 2012, and renewed their vows in 2022. 2Face has seven children altogether, three with Pero, Two with Sumbo and two with Annie.
4. BANKY W and ADESUWA ETOMI (BAAD 2017)
Even though the Nigerian actress and Banky had met several times in their course of work in the Nigerian entertainment industry, they had no feelings for each other. In 2015, while the Selense singer was in an interview, he spotted the actress passing by and felt interested in her. He did not get the chance to meet her on that day but later went to inquire about her from their mutual friends. After getting enough information about her from friends and her social media pages, Banky decided to take it a step further.
They became close friends after acquitting and it took years before their relationship kicked off, as Adesuwa was reluctant to get into a romantic relationship. After much persuasion from Banky, eventually, they started dating.
Two years into the relationship, it got on another level when they got engaged in February 2017. They had a low-key relationship, and many were surprised when Banky made known their engagement through Instagram posts detailing their relationship story. Nine months after their engagement, Banky W and Adesua Etomi had their traditional and court wedding in Lagos on 19 November 2017 and the court wedding followed the next day. The couple travelled to Cape Town, South Africa, where they held their white wedding on 25 November 2017.
5. MI ABAGA and ENIOLA MAFE
After trying numerous means of finding love, even dating apps and all to no avail, MI asked Audu Maikori(lawyer and entrepreneur), and he introduced Eniola to him. It was a case of trans-Atlantic love as she was in Switzerland at that time.
MI revealed how he was smitten when he came across her page, finding it hard to believe that a woman that smart and beautiful was single, even thinking she might be divorced. Summoning the courage though, he slid into her DM, and the rest they say, was history.
MI successfully kept his relationship with Mafe private and out of the scrutiny of social media and online in-laws, until he popped the question to her. He then announced their engagement in April 2022 stressing that he knew when he met her in December 2020 that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. The couple tied the knot in 2022.
