It is fast becoming common occurrence – a recurring decimal if you will: A Nolly-wood actress will announce to the world that after years of diligently searching for that unique person – the one that fulfills her emotional, physical and spiritual needs that she had finally landed the man of her dreams. The media will celebrate the affair and their romance will dominate the pop culture media for months. Their every move would become subject of speculation and intense interest.

As the newly minted love-birds do the social rounds, all would seem to be going well on the relationship front. But the moment they decide to take the union to the next level by announcing their engagement, then all hell will break loose. Skeletons hitherto hidden in the closets will be laid bare; the carefully contrived image of a perfect couple in the making will give way to details that are at best sordid and unsanitized. Another woman will materialize and lay claims to being the legal wife of the man whom the actress had just proudly announced was her newly minted man.

The media will feast on the story and the poor and now emotionally drained actresses will be subjected to public ridicule and would have to engage in public relations damage control. From Mercy Johnson to Ini Edo and now Oby Edozien, it has always been the story of the “other woman” throwing a monkey wrench in an otherwise beautiful affair.

The question then becomes: why does this happen on a regular basis? Are the men to blame for not squaring up truthfully with their fiancées or are the women so carried away by the need to land the guys that they won't mind sacrificing another woman's happiness in order to score the guy for themselves?

Last year, the hippilicious actress – Mercy Johnson appeared to have been blindsided when news surfaced that the man whom she had informed the inworld was her long sought after Prince charming – Prince Okojie was still legally married to a certain Lovelyn Okojie – a Canadian based woman whom he had married years earlier while they resided in Italy, and that the union had produced two beautiful kids.

It was a shattering piece of news that affected the actress. Word was that she was so distraught that she wanted to call off the planned nuptial. Eventually, she decided against it, and though the wedding took place after a quick divorce decree was granted by a judge, there is no denying the fact that the incident may have further increased the trust-deficit that the whole saga had engendered.

Ini Edo and her beau – Philips
A few years ago, popular and pretty actress Ini Edo was also caught with the story of another woman who had showed up soon after Ini Edo and her beau – Philips Ehiagwina had concluded wedding their plans. The other woman – Ruth Okoro, whom Philips was previously married to, had come out to lay claims to still being the legal wife. After back and forth, claims and counter-claims, it was apparent that Philips and Ruth were indeed divorced by the time he had made a commitment to marry Ini Edo. The whole affair was a media hit as several versions were woven. Today, Ini and Philips are happily married-defying naysayers who had predicted the union will not last a distance.

Oby Edozien and Alex O
The current one involves the pretty actress – Oby Edozien. Last December, she got married to Nigeria's 90s pop sensation – Alex O. Soon after the highly secretive marriage became public, another woman Fathima Aboobaker – a South African lady of Asian ancestry, came out to accuse the pop star of bigamy. She told the world she was still married to Alex O. and that Oby Edozien was a husband-snatcher.

According to investigations, Alex O. and Fathima were married and the union appeared to have suffered irretrievable emotional and physical damage – necessitating Alex O. to have opted out of it. Fathima was said not to be willing to let go of the marriage, and the two have been living apart for years. It was during this time, that Alex O. met Oby while the pretty actresses was doing the post-production of her movie, which is the business Alex O. runs in South- Africa – digital animation company. The two were said to have fallen in love in the course of this collaboration, resulting in their hushed-hushed wedding last December. Oby was quoted to have said that there's only one woman that Alex O. is married to, and that “woman is me” – Oby Edozien.

Why do top stars get enmeshed in husband-snatching saga? Is the fault with the men or are the ladies so committed to landing the men at the Alex O. and ex-wife Fathima other woman's expense? Our investigations revealed that the men most times are the ones to blame. “Most of the guys who desire and pursue top female celebrities have other motivations – apart from marriage. Some do so for social validation – while others use such marriages to climb the social ladder. Don't get me wrong – there is nothing awfully bad with such an approach. It is a worldwide phenomenon. Men who are married to top stars automatically become public properties themselves. So for an ambitious man who sees an opening to becoming more socially relevant through marriage to a celebrity, it becomes an enterprise that must be pursued and accomplished.

The problem however, is that most of these men come with severe personal baggage that they try to sanitize or to keep sealed in their closest. They will tell the ladies what they need to hear and may be economical ith the truth, just to get their way, Once the line had been crossed, and the actress becomes emotionally invested, then the guys would begin to disclose certain unpleasant news or baggage that were previously hidden in the closest. By this time, the lady feels trapped – with the media spinning all manner of tales. That was where Mercy Johnson found herself in, and she was torn between calling the wedding off or going ahead with it. In the end, she decided to go ahead with it.” A marriage counselor who asked to remain anonymous had stated.

ALEX-O AND WIFE FATHIMA DURING THEIR WEDDING

Another perspective from Kenny – also a relationships specialist noted that sometimes the fault may be from the ladies. “A man comes along with certain flash and dash and sweeps the lady off her feet. She throws all known cautions to wind and begins to frolic with the man-oblivious to what baggage he may parade. The man eventually tells her the truth about his other relationship entanglements, and she tells him it's ok, I will deal with it. She, at this point is hoping to wean the man off of the other woman's grip. She succeeds and then the other woman becomes a mad and emotionally wounded person and goes on negative publicity drive. Some of our female celebrities may have found themselves with similar scenarios, and I dare say it is not a unique thing to Nollywood actresses – people in Hollywood have experienced similar situations.”

According to another relationships expert, though it is so difficult to peel the truth from men, she advised that by asking pertinent and probing questions certain hidden facts may materialize, and the lady at that point, would either make up her mind to continue with the relationship or opt out of it without causing emotional pains to themselves or to the other woman. “It's an aspect that has become a part of the showbiz world – celebrities marriages are never free of drama, so we shouldn't kid ourselves that we have heard the last from the recent drama involving Oby Edozien and Alex O.” the expert had asserted.