Actress Mercy Aigbe’s husband, Kazim Adeoti, has addressed why he didn’t attend his first wife Olufunso’s 50th birthday celebration.
Mr Adeoti married Olufunso, a US-based fashion designer, in 2002, and they have four children.
However, he announced his marriage to Nollywood star Aigbe amidst controversial circumstances in January 2022.
Mr Adeoti, who previously lived in America with his first wife and children, currently lives in Lagos, Nigeria, with his movie star wife.
Olufunso celebrated her golden jubilee on October 6, 2024 in Minnesota, USA, with friends and close associates in attendance.
The lavish event was marked by a heartwarming video on her Instagram page, showing Olufunso accompanied by her son and three daughters as they walked her into the celebration.
Notably absent from the festivities was Mr Adeoti, which sparked conversations online.
The video, which garnered significant attention, led to a flurry of reactions and criticisms aimed at the film marketer, with many questioning his absence and suggesting his children symbolically replaced him during the event.
However, responding to the backlash, the filmmaker disclosed on his Instagram page on Sunday that his absence from the celebration was due to his wife’s explicit wishes.
Adeoti wrote, “This is to address recent media comments surrounding Mrs Olufunso Adeoti’s 50th birthday celebration, which was held in the US last weekend. To avoid doubt, the celebrant and I discussed her plan for her 50th birthday party and how she wished to celebrate it. She wanted a party but, shockingly, said I should not attend. I asked her again to be sure in the presence of our children, and to everybody’s surprise, her response was consistent: NO!
“That was her wish, and I would not want to be embarrassed by attending a party that the celebrant asked me not to attend, so I stayed in Nigeria. Regardless of how painful her position was to me, I supported her morally and financially towards the party’s success. I also informed and ensured that some of our families and friends in the USA honoured her big day.”
Additionally, the CEO of Adekaz Production Limited said the fashion designer and proprietor of Asiwaju Couture remains an integral part of his life, even in his absence from her golden jubilee birthday celebration.
He emphasised that he could never wish her anything less than the beauty life has to offer, especially as she is the proud mother of his children.
Furthermore, he acknowledged that she remains one of the most influential figures in his life.
“As always, I wished her a happy birthday offline, and she acknowledged pleasantly. Therefore, I would appeal to members of the public, especially on social media, particularly the Facebook community, to desist from making unfound and distorted comments about my family if you genuinely love and care about us.
“The best way to support us is to let peace reign as social media is not real life. Thank you, and God bless, Kazim Adeoti”, he added.