Love Life is a Zikoko weekly series about love, relationships, situationships, entanglements and everything in between.
2021 was a long year for all of us but one of the things that kept me going was writing Love Life. Kunle and I got to interview at least 24 Nigerian couples each. We covered stories about thriving love, toxic love, love gone sour and everything in between. I am definitely looking forward to doing more next year but before then, here’s a list of love life stories you absolutely must read.
1. Love Life: We Fell In Love While Cheating With Each Other
This story was one of the first wildest stories I wrote when I just joined the team. They were both experiencing relationship issues with their partners and decided to cheat as self-care. After spending a lot of time together, they realised they were in love but what about their partners?
Read Favour and Farida’s love life here.
2. Love Life: He Wouldn’t Go To London Without Me
“To be honest, there was no way I would’ve taken the job if she couldn’t come with me. I had my own plans around it. I knew it was possible for her to come along as a visitor, and we could figure out the other parts later.”
This one shows that God certainly has favourites. The couple had only been friends with benefits for a few months when he asked to move with him to London.
Read the full gist here.
3. Love Life: My Father Doesn’t Want Me To Marry A Yoruba Man
“My dad insulted his life and destiny. He seemed offended that Tunji would even come to indicate any kind of interest. It was hell, but Tunji was cool throughout all of this. He just promised to come to see my dad again.”
This Love Life story is the kind of story you watch in Nollywood movies. Ezinne’s dad refused to give Tunji his blessings because he is a Yoruba man.
Finish the story here.
4. Love Life: We’re No Longer Together, But We’re Life Partners
Love Life featured a few breakup stories this year but this one was a crowd favourite. What do you do when you’ve gone from friends to lovers to friends?
Read about Mezie and Oge’s love life here.
5. Love Life: Our Parents Are Worried We’ll Divorce
“I’m willing to get married without my parents. If they don’t want to support us, I’m cool with it. I have Gbemi’s family, and I am satisfied with having her parents as my parents, her siblings as my siblings. I am gaining a family.“
Who would have thought that a Nigerian-American woman marrying a Chinese man would be complicated?
Read Ruoyu and Gbemi’s love life here.
6. Love Life: I Moved To Nigeria To Be With Her
Moving for love was a recurrent theme in our Love Life episodes this year. The thing about this story is that while others were moving out of Nigeria to be with their lovers, Bibi moved to Nigeria to be with her partner.
Would you that for love?
Read Bibi and Kelly’s Love Life here.
7. Love Life: This Relationship Has Made Me More Conscious Of My Privilege
“My work in this relationship is understanding disability, recognising my privilege and doing what I can, if the opportunity arises, to help other people living with disabilities or less privileged.”
The love this couple shares is so intentional you would want to join them in their relationship. Read the full story here.
8. Love Life: It Took Us 9 Years To Fall In Love
This love life episode has all the feels. They met in church, became best friends until they found themselves in love.
“I was the first to realise I was in love and I didn’t waste any time letting him know how I felt. I mean, I had always loved him as a friend, and now I had fallen in love with him. It seemed so perfect and so I wanted more.”
Continue here.
9. Love Life: We Were Made For Each Other
Another recurring theme of love life episodes this year was the best friend-turned-lover trope. You can never have too much of it. Uwem and Blessing’s story will have you texting your boo thing, “Where are we headed?”
Read their love life here.
10. Love Life: Opening Our Marriage Felt Natural
“It’s not open in the way most people immediately think. Yes, you can sleep with other people, but you have to have a conversation about the person first. The other partner has to be completely fine with it for it to happen.”
If you are curious about how open marriages are with Nigerian couples, you should definitely read this love life episode.
Charles and Rukky’s Love Life.
Bonus because you are my favorite person: Love Life: She Made Me a Christmas Tree with 120 Bottles of My Favourite Beer
It’s the love life of a 30+ Nigerian lesbian couple married and living in Nigeria. It’s the most romantic love story I wrote all year, argue with me after you read it here:
Zikora and Hadiza’s love life.
Next year, we want to do more Love Life stories you’d love. If you and your partner(s) are open to an interview, please fill out this form. If you know someone we should be talking to, please send them the form.
Check back every Thursday by 9 AM for new Love Life stories here. The stories will also be a part of the Ships newsletter, so sign up here.
If you want to share your own Love Life story, fill this form.
