Peter* (31) and Ayo* (30) have been inseparable for seven years and partners for five. On this week’s Love Life, they talk about starting out as friends at their very first job before slowly falling in love, navigating people’s assumptions of the gender roles and sexual dynamics of their relationship and keeping themselves a secret from family.

Muyiwa (34) and Banke (29) have been together for two years, and parents for almost as long. On this week’s Love Life, they talk about navigating an unexpected pregnancy, deciding to move in together to raise their child rather than get married and switching traditional gender roles.

Nneka* (54) and Daniel* (28) are in a sugar mummy-sugar baby situation that’s been on since 2022. On this week’s Love Life, they talk about caring for each other within a purely transactional arrangement, how their first fight made the power dynamics clear and what they don’t miss about traditional relationships.

Teju* (37) and Malin* (32) have been living together as a common-law couple in the US since 2021. On this week’s Love Life, they talk about being legally married to other people in their home countries, spending more than they bargained for on Teju’s kids back home and how they plan to remain lovers until they’re discovered.

Aliyu (59) and Mariam (53) have been married for 31 years. On this week’s Love Life, they talk about marrying young, drifting apart four years and three kids after because of their mutual infidelity, and navigating the Gen X Muslim version of an open relationship.

Nduka* and Ene* (both 36) met through a queer community in 2014. On this week’s Love Life, they talk about the surprising support they get from family, how they feel about Nigeria’s gay marriage laws and their plans for children in the near future.

Kola (72) and Wunmi (60) have been married for 35 years. On this week’s Love Life, they talk about navigating infertility in the 80s, giving up on evangelism and lying to everyone about adopting their children.

Dumebi* (27) and Oyin* (24) met and started dating in 2022. They decided on an open relationship three months later, until he met Peju* (26). In this week’s Love Life, the three talk about falling in love with two people, how easy it was to transition into polyamory and what it’s like to be a throuple in Nigeria.

What's really wrong with Nigerian university lecturers?

It took two years after Ben* (38) found out about Debby* (35)’s HIV status for them to date. Now, they’ve been married for four years. On this week’s Love Life, they share why it took so long and how they navigate intimacy and fertility with the virus.