Nollywood actress Iyabo Ojo has opened up about the secret behind her ageless beauty, her past marriage to Ademidun Ojo, and other aspects of her life.
The 48-year-old actress made the disclosure during her appearance on broadcast journalist and media executive Morayo Afolabi-Brown’s “The Morayo Show” on Monday.
When asked about the secret behind her radiant look, she said: “We (single mothers) are happy. I think some married women are happy too. I don’t think it’s about being single or being married.
“I think it’s about the person that you’re with. Sex has a lot to do with a woman’s glow. I’m getting more than enough. Maybe those with marriage certificates aren’t getting enough.”
Love life
Opening up about her relationship with talent manager Paul “Paul O” Okoye, the actress, who made her acting debut in the 1998 “Satanic”, revealed that she is happy with him.
According to her, she and Paul O are both mature and understand each other well.
“We’re two mature people and two very busy people, but the most important thing is to understand each other, to support each other, to be there for each other. You know, we fight.
“We have our, you know, ups and downs. It’s normal, but the most important thing is that we respect each other. We respect our space and what we do, you know, and we just move on with that”, she added.
In December 2022, this newspaper reported that the mother of two unveiled Paul O as the man behind her smiles.
Previous marriage
Furthermore, she disclosed that her marriage to Mr Ojo, should have ended long before it eventually did in 2001.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the actress married Mr Ojo in 1999, at age 21, and almost immediately stepped away from her acting career.
The union produced two children, Felix, born in 1999, and Priscilla, born in 2001, before the couple went their separate ways.
Since the marriage ended, Mr Ojo and the actress had not made headlines together, until twenty-four years later, when they reunited in April 2025 at their daughter’s wedding to her Tanzanian groom, singer Juma Jux.
The reunion between the bride’s mother and Mr Ojo drew attention, particularly because he was absent from the Islamic wedding held in Tanzania, the groom’s home country.
His absence from that ceremony sparked widespread controversy online, with many social media users speculating about the reason behind it.
She said, “Before I make a decision, I really take my time. The marriage should have ended long before; it should have ended on my wedding night. Yes, so I took my time.
“And if I look back, I’m so glad I didn’t stay because if I had stayed, probably my kids wouldn’t be where they are today. You know, so it wasn’t about me when I was leaving.”
Decision
Furthermore, the actress said she left the marriage not for her own sake.
She added, “It was about my children. It was about me having a sound mind. Because, you know, these are things I’m going to write in my book and tell them my story, my next cinema movie.
“My next cinema movie, I’m going to be diving a little bit into my history. So when they get to watch it, they get to learn a little bit about where I’m coming from.”
