Funke Akindele: Real Reasons Why Her Marriage Crashed So Early

It was indeed a shocker when in the early hours of Monday, July 15, 2013 it was widely reported that actress Funke Akindele and her husband Kehinde Almaroof Oloyede are no longer together.

What started on blogs and social media soon spread to national newspapers. Akindele remained silent for days, and many fans hoped this was yet another wicked rumour.

Months after the wedding, Kehinde was reported to have impregnated a certain lady, Modinat Nike Dada. The couple did all they could to cover up the mess, but it was out in the open.

Apart from Modinat, there was the eldest wife, Fadekemi, who felt betrayed by Kehinde’s marriage to Funke. Sources maintained that Fadekemi and Modinat neither supported Funke’s marriage to Kehinde and even though he went ahead to marry her, they firmly objected the union. NET gathered that there were issues from Funke’s family too, especially from her immediate family. But the lovers went ahead, against all odds. And it seemed to all that they had both found happiness in one another.

What went wrong?

It is no more speculation that the marriage, which was contracted on Saturday May 26, 2012, months after Nigerian Entertainment Today first spotted the couple at Industry Nite, at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos, has entered seriously troubled waters.

With more angles now coming out, including allegations ‘Almaroof, the man who stole Funke’s heart last year, swept her off her feet and landed her in the altar, has become a serial baby daddy, keeping a string of affairs, and even returning to the women he had prior to the celebrity wedding with Funke Akindele, it was only a matter of time before it was all out in the air.

Just like Mercy Johnson, who had a big pre-wedding scandal on her hands after the wife of the man she was to marry stepped out and tried to stop the wedding, Funke also had disgruntled wives to contend with. There were many fans, friends and colleagues too, who felt she did not need to settle with an already married man; with the attendant drama and chaos. But, as it is in the things of love, just like Mercy, Funke went ahead to tie the knot in what was unarguably, the most expensive, most glamorous celebrity wedding of 2012.

‘Everyone close to them knows the thing is not working and Funke is very unhappy. People have been advising her. She has just been busy shooting and trying to occupy herself. They have not even lived together since, but they are not divorced, and it is not like it is officially over. Couples separate and come back together. Even some divorced couples still settle. So why are people talking as if this is final?’ one friend told NET, over the weekend, insisting ‘people should mind their business or pray for the couple’

She was happy beyond limits on her wedding day. And the days to come were full of bliss. So were did it all go wrong? Or was it a facade all along?

Why the marriage failed

Prior to their high society wedding, it was widely reported that Kehinde had several children from different women, a fact that was no mystery to Funke. It was reported that he was married to two of the women, an allegation that the ‘Jenifa’ star denied in an interview with a publication.

She boasted, ‘I can tell you authoritatively that my husband is not married to anyone else. Yes, he has beautiful children, who are not mine and we have a cordial relationship, which dates back to even before we got married.’

But insiders have told Nigerian Entertainment Today that the actress would later shockingly find many surprises along the way; even as husband and wife started to discover there were so many things different about each of them. ‘You know when you are in a relationship, it is always a different thing from when you are in a marriage. Funke and Kenny have always had problems but they have managed to conceal it from the public. I don’t know if they have truly separated, but the marriage was becoming shakier by the day’, a confidant who did not want to be named told us..

For months there had been concerns that Funke’s husband was rarely seen around her at most events she honoured. Mr Oloyede’s photos are nowhere to be found on Funke’s Instagram page where she’s very active.

It was also widely speculated by observers that the marriage, right from the inception, seemed like it was destined to fail because of all the controversies that surrounded it. From Kehinde’s many wives to many children, and of course alleged strings of affairs, many opined it was surely going to hit the rocks sooner or later.

Moreover, for some reason, the couple allegedly chose to live apart, an action which, sources say, did not help their bonding.

If Funke no longer trusted her husband, then she was not alone. Many say it is possible Almaroof became suspicious of a very busy woman, especially withy her endorsement galore and frequent trips. But, unlike Almaroof, it is not certain if there were confirmed instances of infidelity on Funke’s part.

‘He can never say he caught her with any man, or that she cheated’, one Funke friend told us. Many others refused to comment on what is, understandably, a sensitive issue.

The man Almaroof Oloyede

Before Funke Akindele’s path crossed with Almaroof Oloyede in 2008, the businessman and politician’s fame was only known in the Oshodi axis of Lagos State where he is actively involved in party politics.

Popularly known as Kenny Doo, he is the son of Alhaja Almaroof, who at present is the Iya Oloja of Oshodi market, as well as a woman leader in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Almaroof is highly into real estate.

He once contested for the position of Local Government Chairman and membership of the House of Representatives in two different elections on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He later became the Special Assistant to former Minister of Works, Adeseye Ogunlewe. After serving out his appointment, he returned to Lagos to focus on his property business.