Simi Drey, an award-winning British-Nigerian presenter and actress, has revealed she called off her wedding preparations with her previous partner after being engaged.
Simi disclosed this in a recent episode of the WithChude podcast when she discussed love and her marriage engagement, which ended in cancellation.
The actress revealed the reason behind her choice, stating that she discovered she wasn’t pleased after being engaged.
The media personality said that she faced criticism after the cancellation.
“My ex and I didn’t have a perfect relationship. He never cheated, never was abusive. But you know when you are not 100% fulfilled or happy. We do live in a part of the world where marriage is heavily emphasized, especially for women. My parents never pressured me, but I remember my friends asking me, ‘When will you get married?’
“Eventually, he proposed. I remember having this apprehension—‘Is he really the person I am going to marry?’ I was very close to my mum. When I told her that I was engaged, she said, ‘Simi, don’t do this.’ But I told her everything is fine.
“My mom is not the type who would ever stop me from doing something or blacklist me. But she knew I wasn’t feeling whole in the relationship. I called my dad and ended the call in tears of apprehension, not joy.
“Two months later, I called my fiancé and said that we should work on our relationship first, and then maybe we can think about marriage.
“A month later, I didn’t feel I wanted to marry this man because I wanted to marry with worth. I ended the engagement with him. And I received more criticism from people around me, but I had to be truthful to myself that I wasn’t happy in the relationship.
“It was after I left that reality hit me. I realized that being single and happy is better than being married and miserable. If I do not feel respected or feel a man is superior to me because of his title or finances, it is a no.”
