By Ekerete Udoh
As
the controversy over her wedding continues to swirl and dominate the pop
culture world, Mercy ‘hipilicious’ Johnson was gracious enough to open up to
The Diasporan Star on her wedding plans and the emotional roller-coaster that
has attended her attempt to fulfil her long nourished hopes of walking down the
aisle with the man of her dreams – Prince Odianose Okojie.
As readers of this newspaper would recall, in our last edition, we
published the story of the alleged bigamous situation her fiancé was said to
have been in, following the emergence of another woman – Jocelyn, who claimed
to be the legally married wife of her fiancé and her plea for her to leave her husband alone.
We had also reported that Mercy was weighing her options – whether to proceed with the planned nuptial or call it off. We also stated that we had made numerous efforts to contact her via telephone, but her lines were all turned off – obviously to give her time to clear her head and reflect on the state of her planned nuptial. Penultimate Wednesday, we again tried her lines, and this time, we were lucky to get her and from the tone of her voice, you could feel a tinge of exasperation, of frustration, of pain and of anguish as a result of all that had happened to her in the past three weeks.
“I am ok as can be” she had told us, when we inquired about her state of mind. “And thank you for finding time to call me.
I know you want me to talk about what had happened, but as much as I really would love to talk about it, and would love to pour my heart to you, I am afraid I can’t really talk right now. I promise you, I will soon open up, and you will be the first to know when I am ready. I picked up the call because I knew it was you that called, otherwise, I wouldn’t have. As you may have seen, all statements that have been issued so far on this saga have been done through my publicist. This is the first time I am saying a word about the whole issue. Please understand. It has not been easy for me, as I guess you should know.”
When asked if she had called off the marriage, Mercy pondered for about a minute and in a mater-of fact manner said “No, I have called it off. I am determined to go ahead with marriage. With that, she bid me good night, and told me she was tired and had to go to bed – a request I quickly honoured.
Mercy eventually got married to her heart-throb Prince Okojie on Saturday, August 27th, 2011 – an event that has elicited different reactions from different people. According to close sources a quick divorce decree was granted by a judge a few days before the wedding, thus clearing the legal grounds for the marriage to proceed.
Mercy Johnson’s pre-wedding hiccup presents a curious commentary on the state of celebrity marriages and how, in spite of the glittering lifestyle they lead, hardly find happiness or stability in marital departments. These are young, beautiful and accomplished women who daily, bring joy and value of entertainment to our otherwise harried lives. They’re adored and celebrated by millions of fawning fans.
Millions of men would give their right arms to
be with them, yet when they venture down the boulevard of matrimony, the road
becomes bumpy, treacherous and sometimes toxic – from the adorable Stella
Damasus, who after the unfortunate death of her husband – Jaiye Aboderin, has
had her heart broken by a man she married, who she later found out, was not
exactly the Prince in shining armour, to the delectable and pretty Stephanie
Okereke, who was so heartbroken when her husband – ex-footballer – Chikelue
Iloenusi allegedly lied his way to her heart and left it bleeding.
The
story of Monalisa Chinda whose husband not only cheated on her serially, but
was also said to be physically and verbally abusive illustrates how some female
celebrities are unlucky in the marital department. Eucharia Anunobi’s case was no different – the husband was said to have
walked out on her with a child who is handicapped, while he ran back to her
German girlfriend. 
Some analysts, especially marriage and relationship experts believe that female
celebrities have issues with trust. “They are constantly being sought
after by a plethora of men with different motivations and needs. And, while
these men are at it, they will present a glittering side of their lives – call
it putting your best romantic foot forward. The moment they accomplish their
mission, they beat a retreat to their wives or regular girlfriends. To
most men, the female celebrity is more of a curiosity, than a keeper. It
becomes an ego thing – a subject to brag about within certain circles.
Sometimes these women become emotionally invested with these men, only to realize that
they have been taken advantage of. And, unfortunately, this circle continues.”“Bereft of love and a man she can truly call hers, the female actress becomes desperate for true love and when they encounter a man who possesses a modicum of certain expectation and values they desire, they fall hopelessly in love and may not find time to analyze the man’s background and history of relationships with the opposite sex. This situation is not peculiar to Nigerian celebrities alone - it’s a universal problem within the entertainment industry – from Halle Berry, to Gabriella Union, who was quoted to have said that she sometimes went to bed crying and hoping for true love, which she later found in the Miami Heat’s star – Dwayne Wade. It is the cross that female celebrities bear” the marriage and relationship expert who asked that she remained anonymous had told us.
INI EDO AND HUSBAND CELEBRATE LOVE IN LAS VEGAS!
While Mercy Johnson ponders her marital future, sexy actress In Edo and husband Philip Ehiagwina are luxuriating in Las Vegas – Nevada, celebrating their love and proving to naysayers who have been peddling false and misleading stories about the couple’s state of marriage that their love is bound by the belief in “Till death do us apart.”
Fresh from a weekend trip to Miami, Florida, where the couple had attended the recently held Akwa Ibom Convention (Ini Edo’s home state), they jetted out to Las Vegas to continue their symphony of love and companionship and are staying at the elegant Bellagio Hotel – one of the best hotels in Las Vegas, where the fountain outside the hotel – a tourists’ magnet, dances mesmerizingly to the rhythm of the song played. When we reached Ini Edo’s husband Philips on the phone, he was full of love and excitement for his dear wife” She is a great wife and I am so blessed to have her as my soul-mate. I couldn’t ask for a better wife and I thank God for his blessing my life with Ini.
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