Popular Nollywood actor Daniel Etim-Effiong has opened up about how he ended up marrying his wife, Toyosi, shortly after his ex-girlfriend turned down his marriage proposal.
In a recent interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, Etim-Effiong revealed that he was emotionally ready to settle down, but the woman he was dating at the time, a non-Nigerian living in South Africa, had other plans.
According to him, she wasn’t interested in marriage as she was focused on pursuing graduate studies in the United States.
The actor said he was disappointed by her response, especially because he had made up his mind to stop juggling multiple relationships and commit to one partner.
Daniel Etim-Effiong on why he married his wife
“I think two things came together to prepare me to marry my wife. At that time in my life, I was tired of dealing with several relationships. But I had a girlfriend at that time, and I told the girl that I think I am ready to get married, but she wasn’t ready. We were in South Africa at the time; she wasn’t a Nigerian woman.
“So, I told her that I wanted to get married, but she wasn’t ready. She said she had plans to go for graduate school in the United States, and she didn’t want to, for lack of a better word, be tied. And I was disappointed like, what is she talking about? We could do so many things together.
“At that time, I was ready for marriage. Anyone who was with me at that time had to answer the question, ‘Do you want to get married?’ Like I did ask my girlfriend that time, and she declined.
“And then, it coincided with coming back to Nigeria to be on a project that my wife was the production manager of. We had been talking before that time, but we met when we both came to Nigeria. It was her first job in Nigeria when she came back from New York. And then we met, and we started to talk. I had a long conversation with her. I told her that I really want to get married, and she said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
It is worth noting that Etim-Effiong and Toyosi got married in November 2017, roughly a year after reconnecting. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, in January 2019.
Their love story has since drawn admiration from fans who continue to follow their inspiring journey as a family.
