In her interview, the immediate ex- wife of
Nollywood actor, Femi Branch, Ibitola has finally opened up on what led to the crash
of their 10 year old marriage.
This is coming after it was revealed that Femi Branch
was set to wed for the third time after separating from her.
The beautiful mother of two said she practically endured her
union with the actor whom she described as unimaginable, reckless and
irresponsible.
Read the full interview below:
We heard that you and Femi Branch
have called it quit. Is it true?
Yes, it is
What actually happened?
I came back from work that day,
and he went out as well. I waited till 11 pm and I didn’t see him. I tried
calling him on phone when I didn’t see him. He complained that I was screaming,
I apologized for screaming and I asked him for his whereabouts. I told him he
wouldn’t have gone that long since he wasn’t on location. All he said was that
he was coming, he also said I was screaming which I apologised for again. But
Femi did not come back to the house till 1am. I was up waiting since he said he
was coming. When he came, I went to open the gate and I told his friend that I
wouldn’t come down that late again if he comes back late. I was really upset. I
asked his friend to warn him because of another time. I added that he should be
telling me if he would come home or not because that wasn’t his first time. The
next thing Femi said was, “You dey craze.” And I replied the same way. He
started bragging, “Do you know who you are talking to? I am Femi Branch,” and
he descended on me and started beating me. He was hitting me hard and his
friend was trying to stop him. He left me and went upstairs and told me to meet
him upstairs. His friend said I shouldn’t go, but where will I go by that time?
So I went upstairs. Femi continued beating me and insulting me. His friend
tried to intervene again, all these while I never raised my hands against him.
You can imagine him with his stature hitting me. His friend said I shouldn’t
sleep in the house, so I followed him because he was also a married man with a
kid. I slept in his house that night.
What is the name of his friend?
I wouldn’t want to drag him into
this, it was a close friend of his.
Would that be the first time he
would be beating you?
The truth is, that was the first
time. But before then, he had pushed me hard against the bed that I almost hit
my head on the wall. That was two years ago. Such things don’t happen without
signs, him pushing me the first time and now beating me. It could develop into
something else. I have always said I can’t stay in a marriage if the man
is beating me, I know I can get killed if it continues. I have risked my life
enough in that marriage so I decided to leave.
What happened next after moving
to his friend’s house?
The second day, his younger
brother asked me to come over to his own house as he wasn’t happy I was staying
in a friend’s house. I moved there and was shuttling between that place and my
sister’s house till I could get a place of my own.
What were the signs that showed
things were getting really bad?
The issue is that we women see
signs even before marriage. I would like to say that Femi came extremely late
on our wedding day. People were already waiting for almost three hours before
Femi came and he was not apologetic about it.
What exactly happened?
I don’t know, but it took him
almost three hours before he showed up and he was not remorseful about it.
Then, when I got married to him, he has only paid my daughter’s school fees for
just one term. My daughter is nine years, that means I am the one who has been
responsible for her upkeep.
What was his excuse for not being
responsible?
He made me believe he does not
have money. Later on, I heard he goes out and spends money anyhow. He goes to
clubs, pops champagne and spends crazily. It was a regular occurrence, people
used to call me that he was in one hotel or the other. There was this
particular day someone called me that he was in a hotel spending money. That
person knew Femi was not responsible at home. All I was trying to do was to
patch the marriage and make sure things were fine. You know in the African
setting when you are married, you have to endure. Up till this moment that I am
talking to you, he doesn’t know how his children are eating or faring. The last
time he saw them was January this year. He said they should spend the New Year
with him and he returned them empty handed.
Was there no time you called him
to order?
Several times, we spoke
severally. He was always saying jobs were not coming, he doesn’t have money.
Femi is a successful actor
getting lead roles, so why was he irresponsible?
It is unfortunate outsiders have
a different picture of him. Femi is someone who can be in church speaking in
tongues and the next minute he is out with the guys drinking, smoking and
womanizing. He acts a lot. He is not the same person at home and outside.
Are his parents and siblings
aware of this?
Funny enough, he has a very
wonderful family. They knew about it and spoke with him severally. In fact, his
family made me stay this long in the marriage. His family complained and talked
to him, they did everything they could. It is only prayer that can change him,
Femi lies a lot.
Can you give me instances?
He would tell me he has gone on
location and he would lodge in a hotel, do whatever he likes. There was a time
he was part of the crew following Jimi Agbaje during his campaign period. I was
in Abeokuta then. After the whole exercise, everybody left the hotel except
Femi. He was enjoying himself. One of his colleagues whom I had complained to
called me to inform me that he was the only one left in the hotel. It is the
same hotel he is indebted to now. He has a case at the Ikeja magistrate court.
The story is true that he was locked up in Kirikiri. He is owing the hotel to
the tune of millions.
What steps did you take about
this?
I asked, spoke with him and he
would always give excuses. It is what Femi wants that he will do. It took him
eight months before he came home. When he was arrested, I was in Abeokuta and
he was in Lagos. I traveled to Lagos that night to bail him out but I couldn’t
bail him that night. That was in November 2015. I did all these for Femi but to
him I have done nothing.
Where exactly did you guys met?
We met in a church in Abeokuta.
I thought you guys met in school.
I should have said you should have noticed some of these traits in him?
No, we never went to the same
school.
Which school did you attend?
Moshood Abiola Polytechnic.
What about him, we learnt he
graduated from Ife?
I don’t know if he graduated or
not. You can go to Ife and ask.
But you were married for ten
years, how come you don’t know?
I told you Femi lies a lot. Ask
him to produce his certificate. He has lied so much and he will continue to
lie, that was what he told me.
Is it true that he was married
before he met you?
Yes, he was married before we
met. According to what I heard, the lady didn’t stay up to a month. I was told
a funny story about it, I was told the mother in law was to collect cow leg and
the lady left.
Cow leg, how?
I think they were to share a cow
and she wanted a particular part of the cow. I don't really know, that was what
I was told. Maybe the lady noticed something else. If I have the opportunity to
meet her I would ask her. My parents didn’t believe the story as well, we just
let things be.
Have you heard he wants to get
married again?
Yes, I have. I was just laughing,
and I said, Wow, Femi has caught a big fish. According to what I heard, the
lady is British. I said Femi has caught a big one.
How would you say such a thing?
Because I know Femi, he would
only go to women who have money.
That means he married you for
your money?
I am not saying that but before I
married him, I do travel out a lot for leisure. When we got talking, he had the
idea of the type of life l lived before meeting him. Maybe he felt I had money
or that I had a British citizenship. I was even pregnant before we got married
but the baby was still birth. Immediately it happened, I traveled abroad to
rest. Good for the lady, I pray they find happiness together. But there must be
more to why Femi wants to marry that lady. I am not granting this interview
because I am bitter, I have moved on. I just want to clear my conscience
because my family didn’t know what I went through for ten years. It was when I
left last year that I told my family. People have called to blame me, some said
I should go back to him.
Has he filed for divorce?
We are just separated, not
divorced.
How come he is getting married
again?
We had a white wedding and a
traditional one.
But you had a marriage
certificate?
Yes, we were given one but we are
not divorced. We got married in a white garment church.
Why did you leave your children
in the first instance?
When I left the house, my
children were with my parents for holiday. When the holiday was over, I went to
pick my children and took them back to our house. I told them to go upstairs
that I was coming. I then turned my back and left. I did that not because I
wanted to leave my children, but I wanted his family to be sure of all I had
been saying,). I knew he can’t take care of those children. I was crying when I
left and I prayed that I would get them back, it was not up to two weeks that
Femi took the children to the village, to his parents. He did not drop money
for their upkeep or anything, so his parents took them to public school and he
never visited them for once in that four months they were there from April to
July. I went there two times to check on them, I later called him that I wanted
the children back. He said was I not the one who dumped them before? I told him
I needed to make a statement that he couldn’t take care of his children that
was why I left them in the first place. He eventually released the
children. Arrangement was made, he picked them up and dropped them at his
brother’s house and I picked them there.
Was there no intervention from
his siblings or parents to reconcile the two of you?
When the incident happened, some
of his elder brothers tried to call and I told them that I was no longer
interested. Family members were trying to reconcile but the person that caused
the trouble was not remorseful. He did not apologize for beating me, he didn’t
say he was sorry. This was the same person that had an accident in 2012 on
location. I was the only one taking care of him. You know marriages have their
own challenges, I have stayed through thick and thin. I covered up for so long,
my mum will always call me, Are you okay? Are you sure you are okay? I
almost shut my mum up on his case. I have never done that in my life. My mum
will always complain that I was always telling her he was on location, that it
means he doesn’t have time for his family. But I always calm her down. His
family tried but I have made up my mind about the marriage. I don’t think I can
endure any longer. If Femi reads this, he knows that I am not lying. I was
practically fending for the family throughout the ten years. Someone asked me,
Does it mean he has not done anything good for you in the last ten years? And I
told the person the bad he did was far more than the good. I don’t want my
daughter to go through what I went through in marriage, and I don’t want my son
to be like his father.
You left him in April and he’s
getting married a year after, do you suspect they started dating before you
left him?
I don’t think so. I heard the
church he attends now did the matchmaking.
Did the church call to intervene
in the case?
No, they never did. No one knows
what he told them about me.
Credit: Encomium
Credit: Encomium
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