At last, Funke Akindele admits marital crisis
After threatening to sue the media for reporting that her 14 month-old marriage to Alhaji Kehinde Oloyede might have failed, actress, Funke Akindele, on Friday, admitted that she had been separated from her husband. This confirmation came hours after her erstwhile husband debunked the news that he divorced her on Facebook.
The confirmatory statement by her publicist, Ayo Ola-Mohammed said, 'On behalf of our client, star actress, Funke Akindele, we want to formally inform you that after due consultation and consideration, she's now separated from Mr. Kehinde Oloyede as his wife. She hereby urges her fans and all concerned to pray and wish her the best as she moves on in her career.
' Kindly note that this is the first and only official statement from Funke Akindele on the matter and will be glad if her wish is respected.'
Kehinde, son of former Iyaloja of Oshodi Market, had claimed that his Facebook account was hacked and that the hackers were responsible for the divorce message posted on his wall on Monday. To back up his tale, he deleted his old account and set up a new account on Thursday. But before the old account disappeared on Facebook, the divorce message had been removed.
The divorce message on his former account wall said, 'It's with heavy heart that am announcing the separation of me nd ma wife Mrs Olufunke Akindele, we've both agreed to go our separate ways coz of irreconcilable differences. We still best of friends nd we 4ever remain gud friends.'
Reacting to the news via a text message, the actress had said, 'I read in the newspaper yesterday that I am divorced. What proof do you have? And I am taking this to court because my marriage is intact. You guys are rumour mongers. Funke Akindele Oloyede.'
Funke's statement would have been a big relief to her fans but not anymore. Some people claimed that she got married to Kenny, primarily because of his large bank account. However, Life and Beat gathered from reliable sources that the reverse was the case.
According to Funke's colleague and friend, who didn't want her name mentioned in print, the actress more or less, 'bankrolled' the society wedding, which was held in Lagos in May 2012.
'I can confidently tell you that Funke didn't marry him because of his money. I am aware that during the wedding, it was Funke that used her money to buy the 'aso ebi' for the wedding. In fact, she bought expensive fabrics for her husband's family and when she wanted to buy for her own family, her sister-law asked her if she didn't think the fabric was too expensive,' the source said.
The source claimed that Akindele married for love and more so, was happy she could finally settle down after she allegedly broke up with her former boyfriend, Femi Adebayo.
'She was so happy she found love again after her messy relationship with Femi. She was happy she could get back at him after everything. It is a pity that some people think Funke married Kenny for his money. How much does he have? Right from time, I knew that union was not worth it but I had to be happy for her since she was happy with her choice,' she said.
Another fan, who claimed he knew so much about the couple, wondered why the rumour of failed marriage would come up just after they completed their 'mansion' in Lagos.
'I am aware that Funke and her husband were building a mansion somewhere in Ikeja. I can't really say who is funding the project, but I know both of them used to come there all the time. It is a pity that this break up story is coming up now that the couple has achieved this,' said the fan, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
The actress, who Life and Beat gathered, is busy at a movie location, refused to respond to the text messages sent to her line earlier in the week while the calls made to her line were ignored.
Her publicist also ignored several calls and text messages sent to her, though she was quick to debunk through her twitter handle, that she never spoke to a popular blogger who claimed she (Ayo) confirmed the marriage break-up.