Nollywood actress Osas Ighodaro and her ex-husband Gbenro Ajibade reunited over the weekend to celebrate their daughter Azariah's 10th birthday. Both shared tributes online, and a video showed the former couple dancing together at the party. This moment marks a striking contrast to the public accusations that followed their separation years ago.
From a Televised Wedding to a Public Split
Ighodaro and Ajibade married in 2015 in a wedding grand enough to be televised nationally. They welcomed Azariah in 2016, but by 2018, the couple had separated. The split was far from quiet. In the months that followed, Gbenro publicly criticised Osas's parenting, accusing her of leaving Azariah home alone to attend parties and once sending the baby home through a stranger. He also took shots at her on Mother's Day, mocking the idea of her being celebrated as a mother.
Rebuilding Through Birthdays
Despite the acrimony, the last several years have shown a remarkable transformation. Since the split, the two have shown up together, or at least in close coordination, for nearly every one of Azariah's birthdays. At age five, Gbenro surprised her at school with an amusement park outing. At six, both posted gushing tributes separately. By nine, he was flying in from the US specifically for her birthday, surprising her at the airport in a moment that went viral for its genuine emotion. This year, for her 10th, he visited her school ahead of the big day, then joined Osas for a party where the two were filmed dancing side by side.
Public Reaction: Admiration and Wistfulness
The public reaction has followed a familiar script: admiration mixed with a little wistfulness. Following videos of the day, commenters noted that peaceful and safe co-parenting still exists. Others praised Gbenro specifically for staying consistent despite living abroad, with various people noting that Osas had a child with the right person even if their romance didn't last. This pattern is worth noticing in Nigerian celebrity culture more broadly, where breakups are often messy and very public, and reconciliation—even the platonic, parental kind—rarely gets the same spotlight.
Osas and Gbenro did not get back together, and nothing suggests they will. What they did do is recover from a genuinely public falling-out into something that shows how deliberate they are, at least for their child.
