Actor Daniel Etim-Effiong has opened up about how heartbreak and rejection from a past relationship ultimately led him to his wife Toyosi Etim-Effiong.
In an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, the Castle and Castle actor shared that he had been ready to settle down, but his then-girlfriend wasn’t on the same page. According to him, that relationship ended when she chose to focus on her academic goals.
“I think two things came together to prepare me to marry my wife. At that time in my life, I was tired of dealing with several relationships. But I had a girlfriend at that time, and I told the girl ‘I think I am ready to get married’, but she wasn’t ready. We were in South Africa at the time; she wasn’t a Nigerian woman,” he said.
Etim-Effiong, who admitted to getting tired of womanising and seeking more stability, added, “So, I told her that I wanted to get married, but she wasn’t ready. She said she had plans to go to graduate school in the United States, and she didn’t want to, for lack of a better word, be tied. And I was disappointed, like, what is she talking about?
“We could do so many things together. At that time, I was ready for marriage. Anyone who was with me at that time had to answer the question, ‘Do you want to get married?’ Like I did ask my girlfriend that time, and she declined.”
After the breakup, fate had other plans. Etim-Effiong returned to Nigeria for a film project and reconnected with Toyosi, who was the production manager on the job.
“And then, it coincided with coming back to Nigeria to be on a project that my wife was the production manager of. We had been talking before that time, but we met when we both came to Nigeria. It was her first job in Nigeria when she came back from New York. And then we met, and we started to talk. I had a long conversation with her. I told her that I really want to get married, and she said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
Daniel and Toyosi got married in November 2017. The couple, who have since welcomed two children, often share their journey of love, faith and family with fans on social media.
