Though Tonto Dikeh and her husband, Oladunni Churchill, are yet to speak in clear terms about the alleged trouble in their marriage, there are strong indications that things are not going well for the 17-month old union.
Last Thursday evening, Dikeh removed her husband’s name, Churchill, from her Instagram handle. The C, in her name should not be mistaken for Churchill; it stands for her middle name, Charity. She did not stop there. She also removed yummy wife/mum, which used to be on her profile too.
Since her traditional wedding in August 2015, Dikeh never got tired of showing off her husband and her gifts on social media. These were gifts most women could only dream of.
When she got a wedding ring worth N12 million in August, 2015, she talked about it. When she got a diamond necklace and wristwatch in March 2016, she talked about it. When she got an Apple iPhone 7 Rose Gold in September, 2016, she talked. When, in October 2016, she got two expensive cars, a brand new Lexus LX 570 2017 model worth N41 million and a security pickup truck, she broke the internet with the news.
Before marriage, I did know how wealthy her husband was. I am sure most people did not either. The man, perhaps, lived a quiet life until his wife came into the picture. Dikeh’s activities, largely on social media, made everyone able to second-guess Churchill’s worth, exposing him to the prying eyes of Nigerian women. Now, the worst seems to have happened. How many Nigerian men can spoil their wives like Churchill does? For Dikeh, she might think she was doing nothing wrong. But in a way, she was doing everything wrong. She introduced her husband to the world; she introduced her husband to other women, if indeed the allegations that her husband is cheating on her are true. I am not here to exonerate the husband’s alleged infidelity. But as harsh as this could sound, cheating is in men’s DNA, especially Africans, and our tradition supports it. A man could be legally married to a woman, but have concubines. The only difference here is that while an ordinary woman keeps things to herself to keep her marriage even when she knows her husband cheats on her, a celebrity’s ego might not allow her to do the same. She thinks of what people say and she thinks she can do without a man in her life. However, if the infidelity story is true, Dikeh has a decision to make. And whatever she does would stay with her for the rest of her life. If she decides to walk out of her marriage, she would join the growing list of separated single celebrities. Her situation is even more sympathetic, because she did not see it coming. She had been queried many times by disturbed fans to keep her marriage off social media, but she did not listen. No doubt, it would be sad if their marriage hits the rock, as both of them look inseparable in pictures. I do not, however, think it is not too late for Mr. Churchill to make amends if he has let his wife down. To Dikeh, while I may not know the extent of damage already done, for the sake of your son and beautiful memories, it is wise to fight for your marriage provided it is still redeemable.
