Big Brother Naija star Hermes Iyele has opened up on how his mother abandoned the family for seven years after his father’s finances collapsed.
The 28-year-old shared the emotional story in an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo.
According to the reality TV star, his father once worked with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) but later became a bus driver, forcing the family to live in an uncompleted building.
He said things got so bad that his mother left one night and did not return until seven years later.
“My dad was working with UNICEF before he started driving a bus. We had to move into an uncompleted building, but my mum said she couldn’t move in with us,” he said.
“She left that night and didn’t come back until seven years later. We were pretty young when she left because things got hard, and she couldn’t cope.”
Despite the pain, Hermes said he does not hold anything against his mother, adding that his father stepped in and raised them with love.
“My father raised us with so much love. He was a lover. The thing about love is, it’s the reason I still have so much love for my mum regardless,” he said.
“My dad and my mum didn’t have a happy marriage. They had three children together. But I know that my mum did what she did from a place of survival. I can’t fault her for that.”
This is not the first time Hermes has spoken about the absence of his mother during his childhood.
In a July 2023 episode of The Nancy Isime Show, he said he always longed for her presence whenever other children came to school with their mothers.
“My entire life was longing to have her around,” he said. “I would be in school and see people’s mum come for PTA and I will feel like, ‘oh my God, my mum is so pretty… if she came here I would have so many friends.’ It never happened.”
Hermes lost his mother, Isioma Iyele, in November 2024.
He announced her death in a heartfelt social media post, writing, “You said God would come. And he did.” Fans and celebrities flooded his comment section with messages of condolence.
The dancer, who gained popularity during the BBNaija Level Up season in 2022, is also known for his striking piercings, artsy fashion style and polyamorous relationship.
