..I got married early, to stop men pestering me – Anita Iseghohi,former MBGN

Mother of two children, Anita Uwagbale-Iseghohi is a beauty to behold any day. At the end of her reign as Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Anita disappeared from the society radar briefly only to resurface clinching the arm of Tom Iseghohi, former MD of Transcorp as both walked down the aisle in a nuptial bliss.

A hard working woman Anita veered into business and only recently, she opened her ultra-modern and well-stocked baby store in Victoria Island, Lagos. She opens up to Showtime Celebrity on a number of issues ranging from her priceless crown to her marriage life.

Read on.

How has life been with you after your reign as the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria?

It’s been amazing, memorable and fun.

So what’s been happening to you?

I relocated to the United States for a while. But I’m back in the country and I’m now married with children.

You are excitingly beautiful. Where did this gift of beauty come from?

My mother is very pretty. And secondly, it’s from God.

And how do you maintain your complexion?

I use sun screen and moisturizers, nothing more.

How have you been able to evolve and nurture your class?

I’m just a mother and I’m not really into that class of a thing. Because my boys keep pilling up things to keep me occupy all the time. So, I don’t really have the time to concentrate on my modeling career. But whenever I’m out in the public, maybe the beauty queen thing in me comes back.

So how would you now describe the Anita Uwagbale’s class?

I generally like the classic class-thing that you can wear for ten or twenty years from now and it will still look good. I like to look simple; put on a good jacket, a pair of jeans…

What about your beauty routine?

You must wash your face and take off those makeup. So I always take off the makeup, wash the face before applying moisturizers.

Lets go back to your reign. What would you describe as the most memorable part of your reign?

At that time you don’t know how much fun you are having till you are out of it. It’s a new world and you get exposed to different people. You just grow up into something in one year. For me, it was fun while it lasted.

Any fond memories of your reign?

That was when I made the top 15 Miss World out of 105 girls that contested for it. That was awesome. It made me feel good and when I remember and look back to those years, I just tell myself that I’ve done well.

How do you cope with the obvious male attention you get at all times?

It’s like a standard and it’s everywhere. Men will always be men but for you, you should know who you are and what you want.

Immediately after your reign expired, you jumped into marriage, what prompted that hasty decision?
Well, I wouldn’t say I rushed into marriage. I met the right man and at the right time. It wasn’t too early to get married, because there was nothing more I could have done. I couldn’t have been going about, dating all the men in the world. For me, getting married was a perfect timing.

How did you meet your husband?

I met him on my way back from the Miss Universe pageant at the Heathrow Airport, London.

Who made the first move?

While we were on board, he was fast asleep and I made to wake him up because I was convinced judging from his facial appearance that he was a Nigerian. He eventually woke up and we started interacting . And when he introduced himself to me as an Edo State born businessman (I also hail from the state) that was how the whole thing started.

Were you particularly thinking about getting married then?

Trust me I have been thinking about getting married since I was 10 years old. (Laughs). I remembered when I was planning to go to boarding school, and also, how I planned to get married at age 24. Then, I use to say, while I was in secondary school that at 27 years, I must have been married with kids.

What has marriage done for you?

Everything. It’s fun to have someone to talk to, and also, it’s fun to be married.

When you became the MBGN, one recalls that you ordered that your mum relocate from Festac where she was an Akara seller…

My mum did so much for me and I prayed that if I win the MBGN crown, I’d turn her life around.