TRUE LOVE: The Untold Story And Why Lola Omotayo Married Peter Okoye Despite Their Age Difference

Note: This piece was culled from Encomium Weekly.

THE love story of Peter Obumneme Okoye of P-Square and Lola Omotayo is compelling and amazing. The couple have been in a relationship for over eight years before they finally tied the knot on Sunday, November 17, 2013.

When Lola got pregnant for Peter Okoye in 2008, ENCOMIUM Weekly was the first journal to break the good news. In Lola’s word, the world was told how their affair started, how they are getting on and their plan. Back then, marriage was never in the picture.

In an interview with ENCOMIUM Weekly in April 2008, the then Business development Director, FK:G2 (a top marketing outfit) poured out her heart thus:

“My agency handles some of British American Tobacco brands and P-Square was doing a show for us at one of our events in Enugu. Though I had met Peter a couple of times before then, at the show there was some chemistry. He asked for my number and I refused giving it to him. I told him if you really want to know me, you have to find my number. So he took it as a task and found my number and the rest is history.”

Lola, said to be 35 back then, and the popular singer in his 20s, was not disturbed by the age difference. Her defence:

“Like I said, Peter is an old soul and he always tells me that I’m like a 23-year old. Age is just a number. Right now, you can see it around the world. Demi Moore, Usher and some known people. Even in Nigeria here, they are dating people far older than their age. So, we shouldn’t base it on the age factor. He doesn’t make me feel like he’s younger than me.”

DSC_5601On the future of their relationship, Lola who now has two children for the music super star had also told the journal of record, ENCOMIUM Weekly, she is not really particular about marriage.

“The truth is I’m not particular about marriage. Marriage is not something you rush into. To me, it is over rated in Nigeria. Here, they say marriage completes a woman, but I don’t believe in that. There is so much that completes a woman and marriage is not it. I’ve never focused on that. I’m not the little girl who dreams of her wedding day. I’m not afraid to be alone. I pray, I am not going to end up alone for the rest of my life, I want a life partner. But the tag, marriage is not something I think is the ultimate. I would take my time rather than rush into marriage only to later discover that it is not what to expect.

“And Peter, as well, is dealing with his own career and he wants to focus on that. And you know, may be in a year’s time, I would be ready to get marriage and if he’s not ready then, we get to go our separate ways. The truth of the matter is that marriage is not in the picture for me right now.”

Lola further narrated how she was struck by cupid’s arrow: she confessed they were friends for a while before they got intimate: “Not that long. He was too fine, so I had to kiss him. In the beginning, we were coming from different walks of life and there were later adjustments. When I’m into something, I’m into it, 100 percent. People just look at the social status thing. He’s an entertainer, she’s a career girl, but it’s not about that. He’s not the first artist I’ve dated, not a Nigerian though. He was an international act.”

Peter of P-Square had always told his family and friends it is either Lola or nobody. Even when a former beauty queen and a struggling rapper allegedly got romantically involved with him, he had to disown her for the sake of his love for Lola Omotayo.

Despite their different cultural backgrounds and career paths, the popular artiste’s love for Lola did not wane. Even when she got pregnant for their first baby, he didn’t shy away from his responsibility.

“The pregnancy is mine and nothing on earth can make me deny it. After all, I didn’t impregnate a street girl. The person carrying my baby is an independent and responsible lady who I love with all my heart. So, the baby is mine and I’m proud to be the father. As for marriage, I don’t have plans for it yet.”

Pretty Lola Omotayo, a native of Osogbo in Ifelodun local government of Osun State has obviously got more than she bargained from her more than eight year romance with the Anambra-born Peter Okoye. From leisure trips to exotic car gifts, the half-caste in her late 30s has been pampered far beyond her dreams by the singer whose songs are the toasts of many in Nigeria and beyond. And now they have consummated their union the traditional way, their family, fans and associates are wishing them everlasting marital bliss.