Crushes, we’ve all had them. But how early did you have your first crush? 12? 5? These 9 Nigerians had some stories to tell.
1. Evelyn, 22
I was seven and they were my cousins — I’m not sure we were actually related though. I met them on one of our family trips to my big mummy’s house. The girl was about my age and the boy was a year older than me. I wasn’t the type to share my stuff as a kid, but I actually went out of my way to let them take my toys and chocolates in the name of crush. I ended up kissing them both and they haven’t spoken to me since they found out. Monogamy is definitely not my thing.
2. Amaka, 21
My first crush happened when I was four. He was my neighbour and we lived in the same compound. My first female crush wasn’t till I was six or seven. She was pretty, smart and super friendly, but I didn’t even realise I liked her as more than a friend till I was 19 — around the time I accepted I liked girls.
3. Irene, 25
All my crushes were girls, but the first one I remember was my neighbour’s niece. I was six or seven at the time and she was such a sweet babe to be with. I remember her having such a pretty face; her eyes were so beautiful to look at and her lashes were thick and long. Her natural lips always looked like she had on red lipstick and a black liner along the edges. Gosh! She was almost too perfect. Sadly, she was into my brother. But that didn’t stop me from spending as much time as I could with her.
4. Brenda, 20
I was seven and had a crush on a boy and a girl. The girl was the fictional character called Shego in Kim Impossible. She looked like she could kill me, but with my weird interest in serial killers, I loved it. I was very into her feisty and cool vibe as a villain; I still like my women, dangerous and sexy. It was super attractive to me as a kid. The guy I was crushing on usually told me I had a big butt — and he wasn’t lying, so maybe that’s why I had a thing for him.
5. Abel, 22
We were both nine and in Primary 4. I used to turn around to get a glimpse of her every time she walked into the classroom. I can still picture those cute geeky glasses she always had on and I remember her always sitting behind me at every Yoruba class — we never understood a word of it. All we did was play and help each other during tests. Omo… she was whatever a nine-year-old version of a bad bitch was supposed to be: the leader of a clique, the finest water bottle and all back that always burst my head. Now, I just watch her snaps and she’s still a bad bitch at 23.
6. Linda, 25
I was 14 or 15 and I was seriously crushing on this cute cool guy all the babes liked. He was a scholar that played basketball and did taekwondo — why won’t I crush on an efiko with muscles, please. I went to meet him to tutor me in Chemistry and Physics, but he didn’t understand that I wanted to be taught other things. Anyway, he got a scholarship to study abroad the next term and that was the end of my crush.
7. Femi, 24
I was five and the top dog in my class before two babes came from nowhere to displace me from my first position title in primary two. They became my rivals, but I was crushing hard on them. One of them lived close to me, so we got closer on the bus rides to school together. That’s how I started falling deep into the crush for this babe and went all the way to fifth position by the second term.
8. Liz, 24
As soon as I could spell Jet Li, I knew I was in love. After seeing him in Evil Cult (1993), I was convinced no one else could be my husband — I respectfully reject that now though. I eventually moved on to Bruce Campbell of the ’90s and then Jean Claude and Sylvester Stallone.
9. Rita, 23
I had my first crush when I was nine. He was tall, dark and fine, so every girl wanted to have him back then. There was even this one girl that used to buy him food during lunch break and copy his notes. I wrote him a love letter but my father found it and showed up at my school the next day. I was expecting the Jehovah witness in my dad to jump out, but luckily, there were no slaps involved. Eleven years later, my crush and I connected on Facebook and he wanted to go out on a date, but I had moved on from the crush already.
