Nigerian media personality, actress, author, reality TV show host and entrepreneur, Toke Makinwa has announced that she will not take her future husband’s last name after marriage.
She recounted how she retained her last name when she was formerly married to her ex-husband, Maje Ayida.
Makinwa, who was once married but got divorced due to alleged infidelity on the part of her ex, revealed he wasn’t the kind of person who would push a woman to change her name.
She said: “I kept my last name when I got married. It was supposed to be Toke Makinwa-Ayida but it was only at home that he called me Mrs. Ayida, but I was always called Toke Makinwa.
“But he understood as well because he came from a family where his sister was a doctor, an OBGYN, a very top one, and she’s always still known as Dr. Ayida, so he never had a conversation with me about baby, why can’t you change your name? Like he wasn’t wired that way, he didn’t care.
“I hope that whoever I end up with next would actually love it because Toke Makinwa is staying. I don’t want to hyphenate, I’m not taking anybody’s last name. My name was and is Toke Makinwa. My kids can bear their father’s surname.
“In my marriage, my passport, my bank details, nothing changed. We divorced, thank God it didn’t change. Imagine what I would have gone through trying to change it back, “please help me o! I used to be a former Ayida, I need to become Toke Makinwa my name”, no! I’ve built this brand with blood, sweat, and tears.”