Marriage counsellor Charlotte Adu Poku, formerly known as Charlotte Oduro, has opened up about the emotional and social challenges she faced following her publicised divorce from her former husband, Apostle Solomon Oduro.
Speaking on the Talklife TV programme aired on April 21, 2026, she addressed the broader struggles many women encounter when ending their marriages, pointing to deep-rooted societal expectations and stigma.
Drawing from her personal experience, Charlotte explained that the real burden of divorce often lies not in the separation itself, but in how society reacts to divorced women.
She disclosed that after her divorce, a Ghanaian pastor publicly criticised her under a social media post, questioning her decision and telling her she should feel ashamed.
“Society makes it look as if, without a man in a woman’s life, she is nothing. When a woman divorces, it is the stigma that breaks her down. It is not even the divorce that is a concern. It is the stigma that comes with it.
“There was a time a pastor came under my video. A lot of people spoke about my divorce, but for him, I will deal with him at the right time. I don’t want to mention his church. This pastor wrote under my post that I should be ashamed of myself. So I asked him why, and he said it was because I am divorced,” she shared.
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Charlotte stated emphatically that she holds no shame about her status and instead sees her journey as a source of strength for other women going through similar situations.
She emphasised that choosing to leave her marriage was ultimately about preserving her life and well-being.
She further disclosed that the harshest criticism she faced came not from the general public, but from within the Christian community, particularly from some men of God who openly spoke against her.
“I am not ashamed. If the reason is because I am divorced, then I bless God for my life because other women will look at me and survive. I didn’t die. I didn’t do anything. We saved ourselves.
“I am that woman who will never bow her head down because I saved my life. I am that woman that nobody can bring me down because nobody brought me up. It was God.
“My pain is not from outside. People outside never criticised me. It was from the church. My worst pain in my life as a woman is from the church. I got men of God who preached about me for a month. What did I do? I was divorced, so I was to be crucified,” she added.
She questioned why she became a target of criticism within the Christian space, stressing that she had not committed any wrongdoing in her marriage and had simply made a personal decision to leave.
The marriage counsellor also cautioned that she would no longer accept any form of intimidation or bullying from the church over her divorce.
AK/BAI
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