Toke Makinwa reveals troubled upbringing
A television host, Toke Makinwa, has revealed her troubled upbringing as she said she knew her mother for the first time at age seven. She made the revelations during a podcast hosted by actor, Iyabo Ojo.
She said, “I didn’t grow up knowing my mum and dad. I was living with my dad, my grandmother, and his brothers. My grandmother was my mum to me. My dad was not like a dad; he was like a brother and friend. He was like an uncle because he enjoyed life too much and really didn’t have time to pay attention to me.
“Growing up in that kind of situation where I didn’t even know what they called ‘mummy’, I didn’t know I had a mother; I only knew my mum when I was about seven. My parents were never married; they just had my brother and me together” (sic).
Makinwa, who separated from her former husband, Maje Ayida, said she would have endured the marriage, had she known all she knew now.
“Sometimes I feel a lot of women stay in unhealthy marriages for the children. For the longest, you hear so many women say things like, ‘the marriage is done but I only stay for my kids.’
“And I’m going to be honest here, if I have had a kid while I was married, I may have been one of those women. Because I also had the trauma of losing both parents at the age of 8. I was adopted, I have a great life which I’m thankful for but there were times that I wondered what life could have possibly been like if that didn’t happened.
“So, for the sake of my children, I may have had to compromise just because I wanted them to have mum and dad. I may have been one of these women. So, I’m not even judging anyone right here.”
“I was young at the time (while married). If I was at this age, a lot of the decisions I took I probably would not have taken. Because now I’m wiser and have a better understanding of life.
“Now, I am more exposed and enlightened. But then I was coming from a place where I was already damaged as a child. You know when you come from a very wealthy home but you’ve to still raise yourself? Things like that.”
