Nigerian TV sweetheart Funke Akindele, popularly known as Jenifa, is an actress who has earned a spot among the heavyweights in the entertainment industry. She is not just a talented entertainer but also a producer and thriving businesswoman. Her efforts in the film industry have also earned her several awards and recognition, both locally and at the international level.
However, over the years, Funke has also attracted a lot of attention, not just because of her career and business prowess but her family life as well. Her union with Nigerian music star JJC Skillz is definitely enviable but prior to establishing their status as a power couple with him, she was the wife of a grass-root politician in Lagos. Both marriages have drawn a lot of attention but for different reasons.
Funke Akindele’s First Marriage Was Short and Turbulent
Although she is currently popular as the wife of renowned Nigerian entertainer JJC Skillz, Funke Akindele was initially married to Adeola Kehinde, who is a well-known politician and businessman within the Oshodi axis of Lagos State. He is known to have contested and lost in his bid to become a local government chairman and House of Representative member in Oshodi-Isolo 1 constituency in the past, all under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
So, when news of Kehinde’s relationship with Funke was made public, it made a lot of headlines on various platforms, given their celebrity status. It is also gathered that the politician and comic actress had the biggest celebrity wedding of the year in May 2012. The grand occasion had in attendance, various high-profile individuals – both from the movie industry, as well as the political scene.
However, within a couple of months after the celebrity wedding, Kehinde’s past romantic partners came to hunt the new couple. The whole turbulence actually began to showcase before the wedding, with rumors of Kehinde having children with different girlfriends. Initially, Funke acknowledged knowing about the children and went on to state that they had a very cordial relationship. She even offers to baby-sit his kids during the weekends and on Monday mornings, she would drop them off at their school.
They Resorted to Divorce When More Issues Came Up
A new string of allegations was also unfolded during the early months of their marriage when it was revealed that a Lagos trader, Modinat Nike Dada was 7 months pregnant for Kehinde. It’s reported that on the July 2012 release of Genevieve magazine, Funke had defended her husband, claiming that some sadists were running their mouths with negative comments about her marriage. She insisted that she was the first woman to be married to Kehinde and he fulfilled all traditional rites to marry her. Thus, she suggested that there was no other woman in the picture. She also lamented on how being a celebrity is ruining her right to privacy.
In any case, these rumors weren’t just going away, and after a few confirmations, it was obvious that most of the rumors were actually true. More so, it got to a point when the politician became verbally and emotionally abusive towards Funke. At this point, the options available seemed to have greatly diminished and the couple decided to take the easy way out via divorce.
Life After Her Divorce Was Pretty Rough
The couple eventually got a divorce a year after their marriage in July 2013, and irreconcilable differences were given as the official cause. Kehinde took to his Facebook page with a post that says “It’s with a 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”. However, he deleted the post not too long after uploading it. At the time, Funke also went on to release an official statement via her publicist, Mr. Ayo Ola Mohammed, the Principal Consultant representing NEECEE Entertainment. The statement read, “On behalf of our client, star actress, Funke Akindele, we want to formally inform you that after due consultation and consideration, she has now separated from Mr. Kehinde Oloyede as his wife”.
Shortly after the whole divorce saga, the actress revealed that in the bid to win her love back her ex-husband had devised several unscrupulous means. He allegedly visited Funke’s father’s house on several occasions, trying to patch things up with his estranged wife. The actress also revealed that her former husband once sent her a text about how he had found a buyer for one of his houses in Lagos. If the deal is seated, he would get ₦40million with which he promised to buy her a new car and rent a new apartment for the actress.
Despite the promises, Funke looked on the bright side as she was enjoying her sanity after leaving the marriage and nothing would take her back. When she ignored his proposal, Funke added that he sent another message in which he rained insults on her and called her all sorts of despicable names. This only confirmed that Kehinde had no good intentions for marrying her and it only made her more determined to go through with the divorce proceedings.
Well, for a man like Kehinde who loves to flaunt his life on social media, it did not take him long to go online to ridicule the star actress when she left him. He posted what seemed like a birthday wish to his current wife – the woman he went back to when Funke left him. He actually gave her a house which he had initially bought for Funke and together with the birthday pictures he posted, he wrote, “Happy birthday to a wonderful wife. I wish you long life and prosperity. Thanks for being there always, even when I go off track… O ni suuru l’on j’ogun ohun gbogbo (the patient dog eats the fattest bones)… The message was actually self-explanatory as it was definitely directed to Funke but the actress decided to ignore all his sarcastic comments and moved on with her life.
Marital Bliss Came With Her Marriage To JJC Skillz
It is known that life always throws one a second chance and Funke is among the lucky ones to find love again after a failed marriage and even went on remarry. This time around it was to Nigerian rapper Adul Rasheed Bello, popularly known as JJC Skillz. He was born in Nigerian but raised in the UK, having moved there when he was just 14. It was also during his days abroad that he had taken a keen interest in music, and it was obvious that growing up abroad had affected his style of music. This was expressed in his debut album which was a blend of English and other Nigerian languages. He eventually earned recognition in Nigeria after the release of his single ‘We Are Africans’, an afrobeat anthem back in 2010.
In May 2016, unlike her previous marriage, the couple had a private wedding in London with only close friends and family in attendance to witness the couple exchange their marriage vows. For non-religious folks, the story of how the marriage came about would just serve as some sort of comic relief, but in any case, it still has to be told. According to JJC Skillz, he said that he was informed in a revelation about the union by ‘God’, a revelation he claims came to him in a dream. He said he had the dream around December of 2012, it’s a bit confusing because according to records, Funke should still be married as of then, but who are we to tell a man that he doesn’t understand his own visions.
After JJC Skillz had supposedly had his dreams, he tried making advances towards Funke and according to him, she didn’t initially believe him. He revealed that it was after a year that she finally reciprocated some of his efforts and in 2016, after a couple of years in a healthy relationship, they got married at the private ceremony held in London and are now the happy couple we all know today.
Funke Akindele Became A Proud Mother Of Twin Boys After Conception Struggles
In December 2018, what seemed to be a futile search for the fruit of the womb ended when Funke welcomed her twins. As recorded by google ‘Funke Akindele pregnancy’ was one of the most searched phrases by Nigerians in August 2017. The mad frenzy seemed to have begun after she was spotted with a baby bump at the Glo Network Lafta Fiesta early that year. Sadly, reports say that not up to six months after the excitement of her having a child has circulated online, she had a miscarriage. After the horrifying experience, the star opted for IVF procedures and in spite of how expensive these procedures are, they don’t guarantee anything as the success rate globally is just about 29%. Following several rounds of the procedure, Funke happened to be one of the unlucky ones and at that point, all hope seemed to have been lost.
However, just as she was about to give up, fate smiled on her, and today she has two baby boys. Due to how discrete she had become about her personal life, very few details are available to the public about the boys. However, it is believed that the babies were born by a surrogate mother, maybe that’s why she was able to keep the news of their arrival a secret and truly shock her fans with the news. This speculation also validates the prophecy made by one Prophet Olagoroye who had come online sometime in the past to say that the actress will not be able to bear children of her own as she had chosen wealth above having kids when she came into the world. According to the prophet, this situation will only be prevented if Funke prays for herself as no one can perform a miracle for her, not even him.
The actress is obviously not bothered by all the speculations being made about her pregnancy and twin boys. Rather, she does not shy away from the opportunity to flaunt her precious jewels to the world anytime and she would fondly refer to herself as ‘Mama Ibeji’ which means ‘mother of twins’. Asides from her boys, Funke is also a proud stepmother. Her husband JJC Skillz has three children from previous relationships. Tamiro, Benito, and Josiah happens to be their names and from all indications, they have all blended into one big happy unit.
The Couple’s Clash With The Nigerian Government
During the course of the lockdown that was enforced by the Nigerian government due to the covid-19 pandemic, Funke went ahead to host a birthday party in honor of her dear husband. Videos of the party which was all over the internet soon attracted the attention of the Lagos state government. According to reports, the actress was contacted by the Nigerian authorities to remove the posts from her Instagram and other social media handles alongside doing the needful by stoping the party but she ignored the warning. Without much delay, policemen besieged their residence in Lagos state and the couple was apprehended.
The duo appeared before a magistrate court in Lagos and they pleaded guilty to the violation of the social distancing rule. Funke obviously regretted her actions as she broke down crying and begging for mercy but the law had to be upheld. Both of them received a fine of ₦100,000 plus 14 days isolation period. In addition to this, they are to serve 14 days of community service which they’ll use to go to different rural areas, creating awareness of how real the virus is and stressing the importance of social distancing.
Funke and her husband were also asked to provide the names of the guests present at the party in order to conduct all necessary checks on them. Subsequently, it was revealed that prominent people like music artist, Azeez Fashola aka Naira Marley, Babatunde Gbadamosi who owns Amen Estate, Ibeju-Lekki, and his spouse, Folashade were all present at the house party. The aforementioned were reprimanded by the Lagos State government.
