‘He hit me while I was six weeks pregnant’ – Diiadem recounts abusive relationship

Nigerian media personality and entrepreneur Adeola Diiadem has opened up about her experience in an abusive relationship, revealing that she noticed warning signs from her baby’s father before they got together but hoped his behaviour would not be directed at her.

According to her, she initially observed the way he spoke to domestic workers and other people, including how quickly he became angry and shouted at them.

In a recent interview on With Chude, Diiadem said she questioned whether she would eventually experience the same treatment once they settled down as a couple.

“Before I got pregnant, I started seeing the signs, the way my baby daddy would talk to maids and all of that. I saw the way he shouted at people. I was asking myself if that’s how he would shout at me when we settle or when we have issues,” she said.

Despite noticing the red flags, Diiadem said she convinced herself he loved her too much to treat her badly.

She explained that her experience became worse after she became pregnant, saying his attitude towards her changed significantly.

“I saw the signs, but I felt like he loved me too much to do that to me. When I got pregnant, the whole thing just changed,” she stated.

Diiadem disclosed that just two weeks before their introduction ceremony, she had already made up her mind that she would not marry him.

“Two weeks before my introduction, I knew in my heart that I was not going to marry him,” she revealed.

However, she noted that she continued with the process because she feared the judgment and gossip that would come with cancelling the marriage after her pregnancy became visible.

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“I proceeded because of the world we’re in. Once they start seeing the baby bump, they would start talking, and since it’s just an introduction, I decided to go ahead with it,” she explained.

According to Diiadem, the man subsequently pressured her to complete the marriage process, including having a court wedding.

“He was then telling me that we should get married once and for all. We should do a court wedding, and I told him that I’m pregnant so he should let me give birth first,” she recounted.

She admitted that she used the pregnancy as a reason to delay the wedding because she had already decided she would not marry him.

“I was using the pregnancy to stall them, but I’ve already made up my mind that I won’t marry him. I knew what I went through and it was not a joke,” she said.

Diiadem further disclosed that she suffered physical abuse during the relationship, including being beaten and left with visible scars.

“He hit me and I had scars. People saw me and asked if I was hit by a motor,” she recounted.

She described one particularly disturbing experience where she pretended to faint in an attempt to make him stop hitting her.

“You know when you had to pretend to faint so that he would stop hitting, it was that bad,” she shared.

Diiadem further revealed that the abuse continued even after she became pregnant, with the violence reportedly beginning when she was about six weeks pregnant.

She said she was still recovering from childbirth when another incident occurred.

“My daughter was a month and two weeks old and I was still bleeding from childbirth when it happened,” she stated.

Reflecting on the situation, Diiadem stated that the violence during her pregnancy made her realise that remaining in the relationship could have placed both her and her unborn child in danger.

“I felt like if he could do this now and this beating started when I was just six weeks pregnant. I was just guarding my tummy because I didn’t want to lose the baby,” she added.

FG/EB

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