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| Image: IG |
For many people, failed relationships end with bitterness and endless public exchanges. For music executive Ubi Franklin, however, the experience left him with a different perspective.
Looking back on one of the most difficult periods of his life, Franklin shared a deeply personal account of how his relationship with actress Lilian Esoro unfolded, the emotional struggles that followed, and why he has chosen forgiveness over resentment.
Sharing the details on his page, he recalled that everything moved very quickly after they met in early 2015. Within a few months, he had proposed and was ready to celebrate what he believed was the beginning of a lifetime together.
He said:
"I met my now ex-wife on the 4th of January 2015, engaged her on the 19th of March 2015. After I engaged her, I set up a nice dinner at the Red Restaurant of Eko Hotel. I invited all my friends, big boys, everybody. And guess what? She didn't show up. She had dropped the ring and left."
He admitted that the incident left him devastated and embarrassed, especially because so many people already knew about the engagement. According to him, the emotional pain became overwhelming as he desperately searched for answers after she disappeared.
He expressed:
"I was so embarrassed because it was a big thing on social media. Everybody was talking about it. Have you ever cried to the point where you get to a certain level that you cannot cry again? That's where I was. I couldn't stay in my house. I ran to Iyanya's house to see if I could find her because she disappeared. Nobody knew where she was."
Franklin explained that she was eventually found, but even then, he struggled to understand what had happened. Days later, she visited him and explained that fear had made her walk away.
He stated:
"Then they finally called me that they found her. After they found her, I started asking her questions like, 'What happened? What happened?' Nothing. I checked into a hotel. I don't know how she knew my room. On the 21st of March 2015, somebody knocked on my door. I opened it, and she was the one. I asked, 'Why did you do this?' She said she just had cold feet and all."
Despite the setback, the couple decided to move forward. They travelled to London together and, after returning to Nigeria, attended AY Live, where everything appeared to be back on track.
He explained:
"After that, we flew to London. We landed back in Nigeria on the 6th of April 2015. That day was AY Live. We dressed up and went for AY Live. It was beautiful. Everything was nice.
I'm telling you this story to let you know some of the things that have happened in my life that I survived, things that almost broke me. After AY Live, the next day, I entered the room only to see that she had dropped the ring on the bed and left. That was another roller coaster."
Franklin revealed that they later reconciled once more and eventually got married. Although the marriage later ended, he said they both made a conscious decision not to allow the breakup turn into a public battle.
He said:
"She came back again sometime in June and said she was now ready to get married. So I told her, 'Fine.' We started planning the wedding, and we got married. Unfortunately, we later went our separate ways.
But I'll tell you something. We didn't go on social media to fight ourselves. We didn't kill anybody. We became good friends, and we try to live a good life for our son."
The music executive also opened up about the emotional toll the failed relationship had on him, revealing that he battled depression and even attempted to take his own life on more than one occasion before his cousin intervened.
He continued:
"I went through some depressing moments. I remember one time I bought a red CLA and drove to 3rd Mainland Bridge to end my life. The only luck I had was that my cousin came to save me. Several times I tried to attempt it, and he saved me.
I was so embarrassed, I didn't know what to do. I kept asking myself, 'What have I done to deserve all of this?' I had a good career going for myself. I had been one of the biggest artist in the country at the time. Everything was fine. So I just felt it was time for me to settle down."
Today, Franklin says he no longer dwells on unanswered questions. Instead, he sees the experience as part of his life's journey and remains thankful for the blessing that came from it.
He said he and his former wife now maintain a healthy friendship, work together as co-parents, and continue to support one another whenever necessary.
"Sometimes I feel like that relationship didn't work because it was just meant to be that way. Till today, I can't even really explain exactly what transpired. But we are very good friends. We co-parent very well. We celebrate events involving our son together.
So sometimes I always believe that regardless of all the pain, the best result I got from that relationship is my son. She's still doing very well. Any opportunity I have to support her, I always do it to the fullest.
But this is the lesson I want you to learn from this. I don't want you to think that when something happens between you and another human being, you have to hate that person.
No. That's not the case. If something happens between you and somebody, sometimes it's just an opportunity for you to learn from the process and keep it moving", he narrated.
#UbiFranklin
#LilianEsoro
#MentalHealth
#CoParenting
#LifeLessons
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