Media personality Toke Makinwa has spoken candidly about her past marriage, opening up on resilience, survival, and the misconceptions people often hold about her journey.
In a heartfelt conversation with Chude Jideonwo, the mother of one reflected on the challenges of living through a public relationship while being judged by people who didn’t truly understand her experiences.
Toke explained that resilience is often misread, with many assuming a situation couldn’t have been so difficult simply because the person survived it. According to her, society sometimes envies strength instead of drawing inspiration from it.
“People almost find a way to say it must not have been that bad because you didn’t die. And people love those kinds of stories,” she said. “But when someone bounces back stronger, others may feel threatened rather than inspired. Until you’ve walked in my shoes, don’t comment on my story.”
She also admitted that the public nature of her marriage influenced her decision to walk away. If her relationship had been private, she might have considered staying, but the intensity of her feelings and the environment around her made it overwhelming and unsafe.
“Could I have stayed if it wasn’t so public? Maybe. But the way I loved this person, he was going to kill me if I stayed. How I felt was going to consume my entire life,” she revealed.
Toke’s reflections shed light not only on her personal struggles but also on the strength it takes to choose well-being over appearances, reminding others that survival is not weakness, but proof of courage.
