On Thursday, Nigerian comedian Bright Okpocha, popularly called Basketmouth, clarified speculations about his marital status in an interview on TV3.

Basketmouth, who was previously married to Elsie Okpocha for 12 years, broke the news of his separation in an Instagram post in December 2022.

The comedian said that it was necessary to set the record straight because people thought that it was a publicity stunt.

During the interview session, he, however, refused to divulge the reasons for the separation, saying it was for reasons best known to him.

The father-of-three noted that he does not bring his private life on social media, but he needed to tell the people the truth.

He said, “I am separated right now, and people thought it was a joke. Some said that it was a way of promoting a show, and I let them know that they do not know my design. I do not bring my matter to such platforms and put my things out there.

“It was something I needed to do, and for reasons best known to me, I did that. We are cool, and everything is fine. It was after 12 years; we completed the 12 years in November, and that happened in December.”

Difficult Decision

In December 2022, the comedian released a statement on social media announcing that he and Elsie were going their separate ways.

Basketmouth announced on his verified social media page, where he disclosed the difficult decision to part ways with his wife.

The comedian noted that he and Elsie would not deprive their children of all necessary attention as parents.

He further asked the public to respect their privacy to go through their separation phase.

He wrote, “As much as it pains me to bring my personal life to the public space, this is an unavoidable situation. After much deliberation, my wife and I have made the difficult decision to end our marriage.

“As we move forward separately, we will continue to work together to give our beautiful children all the care and love—guidance and support they need. We humbly ask that you respect our privacy as we navigate these times. Thank you.”

Love gone sour

As celebrity marriages continue to stir reactions and conversations when they separate, one would wonder why Basketmouth and Elsie’s love suddenly went sour.

In 2019, during an interview on a YouTube TV, Wedding Channel Africa TV, Basketmouth and his wife described their union as a good marriage and divorce won’t be an option for them.

Elsie, during the interview session, said divorce was not possible because she loves her husband too much to do that.

Basketmouth said, “Nothing can cause our divorce. The thing is, there is no good marriage that ends up in divorce, and we have a good marriage, so nothing,”

Also, in November 2021, the couple gushed over each other as they celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary.

Following the news of their separation fans wondered what would have gone wrong in a year.