I asked for divorce –Ini Edo

A few days ago, the gossip mill was awash with the news that popular Nollywood actress, Ini Edo’s marriage to US-based businessman, Phillip Ehiagwina, had broken up.

The news was initially received with mixed feelings. But some people, mostly fans of the actress, could not believe it.

Sources, believed to be very close to the couple, said the breakup was due to allegations of cheating and distrust between Ini and Phillip. Also, they accused the groom’s family of aiding the dissolution of the marriage because the actress did not give birth to a child.

Peddling the sad news across the social media, the sources added that the bride’s family had returned the bride price that was paid to them during the couple’s wedding ceremony.

But many people did not believe what they heard until Ini herself decided to open up on the matter. In a message posted on her Twitter page on Thursday, the actress did not only confirm the story that her marriage had crashed, she also went on to refute a rumour that she cheated on her former husband.

She tweeted, “There is a conscious and malicious attempt to tarnish my image. I asked for a divorce from my ex-husband because of lots of irreconcilable differences. I never cheated on him.”

Although it is not known if Ini’s response has silenced some of her critics who have blamed her for the breakup, it is obvious that the erstwhile love birds would have celebrated their sixth anniversary of their marriage next month. The couple got married in November 2008 in an elaborate ceremony that was held in Houston, Texas in the United States.

Unfortunately, a recent twist to the current development appears to rule out the possibility of reconciliation soon. E-PUNCH gathered that, following the breakup, the actress decided to remove traces of her married status from her social media accounts.

Ini’s bio-data on Instagram now bears the word ‘actress’ without ‘wife’. Sources note that while she has reverted to her maiden name and dropped her ex husband’s surname, she was spotted in a few public appearances without her wedding ring.

The breakup, which has been trending on social media since about two days ago, is still being received with shock and disbelief for obvious reasons.

With more than 50 appearances in movies to her credit and a large fan base, Ini comes across easily as one of the most popular actresses in Nollywood. Naturally, her fans and well wishers would be interested in whatever happens to her or become touched by any change in her fortune.

At the outset of her marriage, Ini enjoyed a lot of goodwill, especially from those who had been anxious to see her get married. Not one of this people expected that their icon’s marriage would end up this way crashing in less than eight years.

However, if the crash of Ini’s marriage shook the social media, actress Uche Ogbodo’s brief union with Ato Ubby did not fare better. In just one month, Uche’s marriage broke up to the disappointment of her numerous fans. In an interview she granted an online publication, she claimed that the crash was due to “irreconcilable” differences.

Uche was quoted as saying, “The foundation of the union was based on lies and deceit. Shocking lies. I just want to be left alone to take care of my child. I wasn’t married; I was engaged to be married but as things stand now, the engagement is officially broken due to irreconcilable differences.”

Also, the nation woke up one morning to reports in the media that Pastor Anita Oyakhilome, the wife of celebrity pastor and President of the Believers Love World Inc, Chris Oyakhilome, had decided to divorce him. The reports claimed that Anita was seeking divorce based allegations of ‘adultery’ and ‘unreasonable behaviour’.

Later, investigation showed she actually applied for divorce on the ground that the marriage had “broken down irretrievably.”

Before then, Oyakhilome’s neighbour and leader of the Household of God Church, Pastor Chris Okotie, on June 24, 2012, announced that his second marriage to two-time divorcee, Stephanie Henshaw, had collapsed.

“Stephanie and I are no longer married. We have separated. You can see she’s not in church today. It’s due to irreconcilable differences and you should please respect our wishes at this time because there is no going back,” Okotie was quoted as saying.

Of course, the likes of Funke Akindele and Doris Simeon also, not long ago, had their own shares of marriage breakup.