Nollywood actress Irewole Olaniyan has denied knowingly dating a married man after his wife accused her of a years-long affair and alleged that he financed aspects of her lifestyle.
Nollywood actress Irewole Olaniyan has responded to allegations that she was in a three-year relationship with a married man, insisting she ended it after discovering his marital status.
The controversy began after a woman identified as Mary Edris accused the actress of having an affair with her husband in a social media post that has since been deleted. Mary alleged that the relationship continued for years and claimed that her husband supported aspects of Irewole’s career and lifestyle.
Irewole addressed the allegations in a lengthy statement shared on Instagram on Saturday, October 3, saying she had decided to speak publicly after the matter generated widespread attention online.
The actress acknowledged seeing the man but disputed the claim that she knowingly maintained a relationship with someone’s husband.
According to Irewole, she and the man went on only a few dates, and she did not know that he was married at the time. She said she ended the relationship as soon as she became aware of his marital status.
“I am NOT with this said man and I HAVEN’T been with this man since I found out he was married,” she said.
Irewole also addressed a video that appears to have contributed to the dispute. She explained that one of their dates took place at a restaurant that recorded and published footage of the occasion.
She said she had no reason to object to the video because she was not hiding the relationship and was unaware that the man had a wife.
The actress further claimed that Mary discovered the restaurant date about a year after it happened, by which time she had already ended her relationship with the man.
Irewole said Mary subsequently contacted her privately, prompting her to explain that she had already stopped seeing the man. She also said she apologised to Mary during their exchange.
“I told her her man isn’t my type and apologised to her and she accepted the apology, even though she never agreed that I didn’t officially date the said man,” Irewole said.
Her account differs substantially from Mary’s allegations.
What the wife alleged
In her now-deleted social media post, Mary accused Irewole of maintaining a relationship with her husband for about three years. She alleged that she had previously confronted the actress privately after discovering the relationship, claiming that Irewole initially said she did not know the man was married and had blocked him.
Mary, however, alleged that the relationship continued despite that response. She also claimed that her husband provided financial support for Irewole’s movie productions, trips, expensive bags and other aspects of her lifestyle. Among the claims was an allegation that the actress travelled with her husband to South Africa in September 2024.
Mary described Irewole as a “home wrecker” and alleged that the actress contacted her husband through different telephone numbers and requested money.
The allegations have not been independently verified, and the man at the centre of the dispute has not publicly given his own account.
Irewole alleges continued contact
While denying that she knowingly dated a married man, Irewole claimed that the man continued trying to contact her after she had ended their relationship. She also alleged that Mary had continued sending her messages and threatening to damage her reputation because she was a public figure.
According to the actress, some of Mary’s accusations were based on photographs or videos of Irewole dining at restaurants and spending time with her current partner. “She’d always allude to my lifestyle and eating in restaurants with my actual MAN as being with married men,” she said.
Irewole said she occasionally responded to the messages because she felt that she was being deliberately targeted. She maintained that she had no interest in Mary’s husband and rejected the suggestion that she benefited from deliberately becoming involved with a married man.
“There’s no handwork I’m showing her because I don’t want her husband & I don’t need him,” the actress said. She also stated that she would not have gone on a date with the man had she known from the beginning that he was married.
“I genuinely didn’t know he was married and I’d never even gone on a date with him if I knew,” she said.
Debate moves beyond the allegations
The dispute has generated reactions beyond the two women involved, with some social media users questioning whether responsibility for an alleged affair should be placed primarily on the unmarried woman or also on the married man involved.
Yoruba film actress Kemi Afolabi was among those who commented on the controversy, questioning why public attention appeared to be directed at the actress rather than the married man. The wider discussion has nevertheless remained centred on the conflicting accounts presented by Mary and Irewole.
Mary’s allegations remain unproven, while Irewole’s response represents her account of the relationship and the events that followed. The man named in the allegations has not publicly addressed the claims in the reports reviewed.
For now, Irewole has made clear that she does not accept the description of the relationship as a years-long affair that she knowingly maintained with a married man. Her statement was presented as an attempt to put her own version of events on record, as the controversy surrounding the allegations continues to circulate online.