Big Brother Naija reality star, Doyin David has criticized Nigerians who habitually pass judgment on young women choosing to marry wealthy older men.
Her comments were prompted by the recent backlash faced by Miss Universe Nigeria, Mitchel Ihueze, following her announcement of an impending marriage to 54-year-old billionaire Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu.
Mitchel, who is reportedly 26-year-old, received heavy criticism from some online users who disapproved of her decision to marry a man more than twice her age.
Reacting on her social media page, Doyin David responded to the controversy by identifying two distinct groups offended by such unions.
The reality star said the first group comprises of women who harbor aspirations of marrying into wealth but have not found the opportunity.
According to her, the second group includes men facing challenges in their own pursuits, feeling emasculated as they cannot attract a partner of similar status.
Doyin argued that many Nigerians subscribe to the notion that genuine love is only validated when a woman marries a less affluent man.
She expressed disdain for the label “gold digger” often assigned to women who choose to marry ‘up’ economically.
The BBNaija star emphasized that it is narrow-minded to assume that anyone dating a wealthy person is motivated solely by financial considerations rather than genuine love.
She challenged the prevailing belief that true love is synonymous with marrying someone of lesser financial means, asserting that this perspective unfairly implies that wealthy individuals cannot experience genuine love.
Doyin questioned the rationale behind criticizing someone else’s marriage, pointing out that outsiders won’t be the ones living with the couple.
She said,
“The categories of people who get upset when a woman marries a wealthy man:
“To most Nigerians, the perfect definition of true love is when a woman gets married to a poor man.
“The yard of your wife material is measured by your ability to marry down. Once you’re marrying up, you’re a gold digger.
“There are two categories of people that have a problem with Those ladies that wish they were in her shoes but they can’t find a man like that so they just settle themselves by hating on her.
“Those men that are still struggling to make ends meet because their egos are bruised over the fact that they can’t get a woman like her.”