It is often said that managing fame as a male celebrity can be extremely difficult in a place like Nigeria, especially with regards to being married to one woman. This has been the case of many male celebs in the country who by nature or destiny as some say, practise polygamy.
While some deliberately pick up more wiives as they get successful, others are victims of their fame, which is a natural magnet that attracts women of different social classes & religious backgrounds. Veraciously, culture and religion still contribute to the continuous practise of polygamy in Nigeria. These two factors are fuel to the fire of fame under which these male celebrities hide to become polygamists. So far, it has worked well for many of them and are being applauded by their fans, while some others have received backlashes of criticisms from their fans.
Without further-ado, let’s look at seven (7) popular male celebs in Nigeria who are married to more than one wife. Some of them even have many baby mamas.
Ned Nwoko
Nigerian lawyer, politician and businessman, Prince Chinedu Ned Nwoko popularly known as Ned is unsurprisingly a stark polygamist. He came into limelight for his controversial marriage to the then teenage actress Regina Daniels, who became his sixth wife.
Ned Nwoko is married with a total number of six wives who interestingly are from six different countries. He has a knack for very young, light-skinned virgin girls – his wives were allegedly said to be virgins when he married them, a feat he boasts about.
His first wife is UK based lawyer, Lily Nwoko. They have been married for over twenty years and is said to be his dearest wife. In fact, his house in Delta State called ‘Lily’s House’ is named after her.
Moroccan model & social media personality, Laila Charani Nwoko is his fourth wife and mother of three of his kids. Although there has been talk of divorce between them when she wrote on Instagram in November 2021, Ned has yet refuted the claims.
Fifth wife and air hostess, Lina Nwoko is also a Moroccan like Laila. She became popular when she took to social media to state her displeasure over Ned’s preferential treatment towards Regina Daniels. She also claimed Regina uses dark magic to get the love of Ned. There is definitely no love lost between the two wives, who coincidentally are the current last two wives.
Ned Nwoko who is Muslim, believes polygamy is very important in the society as it helps to prevent ladies from being prostitutes.
There is an allegation that Ned has a secret seventh wife known on Instagram as official_EstherBright, an 18 year old lady who referred to herself as Ned’s latest wife and Regina’s co-wife.
His marriage has produced eight children, although his oldest son is late.
Adeniyi Adegeye (King Sunny Ade)
Juju Legend, King Sunny Ade, apparently has a huge appetite for the female gender, and he doesn’t hide the fact he does. Although many media houses have reported that he has seven wives, other reports claim he has more than seven wives, and loads of children. One thing is sure, he is a polygamist.
One of the wives of juju maestro, Queen Ahneva Adeniyi- Adegeye, who got married to King Sunny Ade in 1984, believes that no African man has one wife, arguing that most men have a wife, a mistress and a concubine.
Sadly, the one-time Grammy-nominee lost one of his wives, Risikat Ajoke Adegeye, who died during the early hours of Tuesday, September 212021; this was barely 24 hours to the 74th birthday of her husband.
His union with his wives have been said to produce over fifteen children. Their identity remains unknown as they have kept themselves from the public, although one of his daughters had her wedding ceremony in 2011 and it was widely celebrated.
Adebayo Salami
Veteran Yoruba actor Adebayo Salami popularly known as Oga Bello is a well-known polygamist. The devoted muslim has two wives and several baby mamas, although that was not his plan all along. In several interviews, he admitted how much he desired to have just one wife, but along the line, his lust for other women prevented him from it.
A product of polygamy, Oga bello stated that his journey into polygamy was due to his inability to manage fame as women are attracted to celebrities. However, he believes he was destined to be a polygamist.
In all of these, he speaks highly of his first wife who he married in 1975 and is usually seen with him in public events. She is Alhaja Risikat Ejide, who is equally the mother of his son and popular actor Adefemi Salami. Earlier in the year, she clocked 70 years and was celebrated by her veteran husband. In a post shared by Oga Bello himself on Instagram, his wife was surprised with a new Toyota Venza. He shared photos of the car and in the caption thanked God for the gift of family.
His second wife, Alhaja Nosimot Omolabake Adebayo clocked 61 years in March 2022.
In total, Adebayo Salami is blessed with 18 children – nine daughters and nine sons.
Taiwo Hassan
Movie legend and devout muslim Taiwo Hassan is married to two wives. Ogogo as he is fondly called in the industry, disclosed in some of his interviews that his second marriage was a mistake as he never planned to take any other wife asides his first wife.
According to reports, Taiwo Hassan decided to take a second wife after many years in their marriage. When he told his wife, she first kicked against it, but later ceded his husband’s request and she accepted to have a junior wife, after his family appealed.
His union with his wives is blessed with six children – three sons and three daughters.
Interestingly, despite his strong religious belief, his wives have two different religions. Ogogo’s first wife, Ajoke Taiwo, is a Christian while his second and young wife, Taibat Taiwo, is a Muslim.
Wasiu Ayinde
Music legend K1 The Ultimate, whose real name is Wasiu Ayinde is known to have dated many women. It doesn’t come as a surprise that he is a polygamist and on this list. Apart from his religion which permits this, the Mayegun of Yorubaland. has such a charm and appeal that attracts the opposite gender.
Despite being linked to many lovers and having 40 children, the multiple award winner has over three wives to his name, though known ones are Titi Masha, Fathia Opeyemi and Emmanuella Ropo. Titi is a niece of Wasiu Ayinde’s ex-wife Shalewa, who is separated from him and has since remarried.
K1 has been accused of having illicit affairs with one of his wife’s cousins. He has also been in the news for allegedly dating one of the wives of the late Alaafin of Oyo. He has also been called out for being involved with the wife of one of his friends, Gbenga Highlander, a man said to be K1’s biggest investor.
Female celebs have also been caught in the webs of affairs with K1. These include Bukky Wright, Dayo Amusa, Tayo Sobola, Bisola Badmus, Biodun Okeowo, Bisi Ibidapo Obe, etc.
Segun Ogungbe
Segun Ogungbe is an actor, writer and a movie director – majorly in Yoruba movie industry. He has two wives who, interestingly, are both actresses. His first wife is Atinuke Ogungbe while his second wife is Omowunmi Ajiboye, who is an actress.
Many times Segun Ogungbe publicly appreciates the two women for being so matured and always letting peace reign in the house. In several interviews he has granted, the actor thanks God for giving him peaceful wives, who are very fond of each other.
Segun is nephew of late actor and filmmaker, Akin Ogungbe, who had 20 wives and 50 children. He definitely follows the footsteps of his mentor.
Yul Edochie
Actor Yul Edochie came under fire last month, for his decision to go the polygamy way, after he disclosed through his Instagram page about his secret affairs and marriage to fellow Nollywood colleague Judy Austin. This revelation shocked everyone, including his first wife, May, after over 15 years of marriage together. His union with May Edochie already birthed four kids, while his new union with his second wife Judy has produced a son, taking the total number of his kids to five.
He also added that he loves the child as much as he loved his older four children, which he shared with his first wife, May. We can only hope he keeps his two wives at peace with each other.