Funke “Jenifer” Akindele: Why My Marriage Crashed

By Akinwale Kasali

Respected and Talanted Nollywood all-rounder, Funke Akindele, has explained why her eight month old (first) crashed.

Akindele could have been the First Lady of the rich  Oshodi-Isolo Local Council Development Area, as her first husband Kehinde Oloyede Almaroof is the current Chairman. She was never pregnant for him.

Not a few people blamed her for being impatient. But in a post on her Instagram page on August 23, 2021, to celebrate her fifth wedding anniversary to Musician and former JJC Squad Leader, Abdulrasheed Bello,

Akindele-Bello, popular known as Jenifa, for her role in her Television Sitcom, Jenifa, revealed that she rushed into marriage. She put the blame on societal pressure to get married – family, friends, associates, non-associates – on why the marriage crashed. Therefore, she advised young women not to succumb to the pressure she succumbed to as she does not want them to suffer her fate.

She spoke of her pains then at the crash, especially, as she read about it on social media, and said, it was a bad crash. But she overcame her heartbreak because her mother was solidly behind her, and asked her to move on with her life.

She advised single ladies to take their time in getting married, warning that if they rushed into it, they would rush out as well.

Her first marriage was to property merchant and politician, Oloyede-Almaroof, popularly known as Kendoo. It crashed in 2013.

Funke to single ladies: “Calm down. Take your time. If you rush in, you would rush out. Lesson learnt. I am not trying to drag anybody. I am going to talk about me.

“You know, I just wanted to get married. I want to do things right, have children and all that pressure. And I went into the (first) marriage, it didn’t work fine. God bless everybody. Everybody is doing well and it ended in a very bad way, on social media, the noise was everywhere. I was actually filming and somebody called me and told me, I wanted to die!

“You know I cried, lost some good deals then. But I didn’t let it break me.”

Thanking her creator for giving her a loving mother who encouraged her not to be devastated but  be strong and go back to  work, that helped her to get through the sad experience.

She advised women never to get married because their friends are getting married or because their parents are urging them to. She stressed that women should do what makes them happy.

”As a young lady out there, do not be pressured to get married. Get married because you want to get married, get married because you love him, you want to spend the rest of your life with him. Don’t get married because mummy and daddy are saying get married or your friend just got married. Have children because you want to have children, you want to be blessed with children, you love children.

“Don’t have children because the society will say ‘Ah she’s barren ohh, 12 years 6 years e never marry’. Ignore the gossips, ignore the naysayers, give them ‘sorry, the middle finger, I don’t care’. Yes, ignore because you have your life, do what makes you happy.” she said.

Akindele-Bello read Law at the University of Lagos, UNILAG,  but has never practiced because she is not a lawyer having not gone to the Law School. She veered off to another career, and has done exceedingly well to the applause of everybody. Her marriage to her second husband has produced two kids – Twins.