My marriage to Lilian Esoro was shaky from the start, says Ubi Franklin

Ubi Franklin, entrepreneur and former artiste manager, says his failed marriage was shaky right from when he got engaged.

Franklin, who is often in the news over controversies surrounding his relationships, got married to actress Lilian Esoro in 2015 but they separated a year later.

He spoke about his divorce — which became official in February 2021 — during a chat with Toke Makinwa, an on-air personality.

He said: “Here’s what people don’t know, my marriage had been shaky from engagement. Some people always say, ‘you shouldn’t have gone ahead with the marriage at all’. But, when I think about it, I made the right decision.

“Now, my son is very important to me. With everything that happened, when I want to feel sad, I show that out. Social media is trying to push the narrative that marriage isn’t important but actually is.

“I was reading something and a working lady was saying it was until she got married that people started respecting her. The reason people see marriage as a problem is that we’ve lost time having conversations.

“Go out for dinner anywhere and everyone is on their phone when dinner is meant for you to see the environment and reminisce on things. People are scared from the beginning of relationships to let the other know about them.”

Franklin, aged 35, added that a defining moment of his failed marriage was when a friend who often mediated between him and his ex-wife suddenly asked him never to visit his home with the same marital problems again.

“You hear divorcee but until it happens to you before you’re more aware of the topic. I was coming from the US where my son was. I was being congratulated but, in my mind, I knew there were problems,” Franklin recounted.

“The news of wanting a divorce came on a Wednesday. I left Arizona for a concert in New York. In three days, I had lost so much weight. I was like, ‘how is this going to be broken on the internet?’ Fame makes divorce worse.

“Pressure grows in silence; it’s the reason a lot are depressed. I’ve been there. Once you’re not speaking, it becomes a problem. You need to find trust in people to tell you the truth. My emotions were anger, denial, blaming others.”