Mother’s Day came with the usual flood of flowers, glowing tributes and heartfelt messages to mothers and mother figures everywhere. Most people stayed within the safe territory of celebrating the women who raised them. Tonto Dikeh, however, decided to take a slightly different route.
The Nollywood actress used the occasion to celebrate her ex husband, Olakunle Churchill.
In a move that left many observers blinking twice at their screens, Tonto described her former husband as her “G” on her Instagram story. She thanked him for making her a mother and for giving her what she called the greatest gift of all, their son.
This is the same man who once featured heavily in the actress’s very public storms of the past. Time, it appears, has a curious way of softening even the sharpest memories.
The internet, as expected, did what the internet does best. Some netizens felt the message was a little too personal for a man who is now married to Tonto’s Nollywood colleague, Rosy Meurer.
Whispers quickly turned into commentary. Commentary soon demanded a response.
True to form, Tonto Dikeh did not keep quiet for long.
Responding through her Instagram story, she questioned why her gesture had suddenly become a public concern. She reminded critics that Churchill remains the only man who has given her a child. She also suggested that perhaps many people do not understand the peace that can come with healthy co parenting.
One could almost hear the collective pause across social media as readers tried to process the message. Gratitude between ex spouses is rare enough to raise eyebrows. Gratitude on Mother’s Day for the father of the child, while the man is happily married to someone else, is a plot twist few expected.