I was in a relationship with someone who is considerably famous in some circles. He has been for many years a prominent character in the entertainment scene  and has a loyal following on social media with a verification badge. The Paps don’t necessary hound him when we were out together in public but he still had a cadre of die-hard fans who did such weird things. Freaked me out at times, and took a bit of getting used to. The fan mail was straight out of Bizarre-O-World. They’d paint portraits and pencil etchings of him, gift baskets, candles and wood carved in his likeness, melted chocolate bars, and a lot of painstakingly hand-crafted things. Sometimes I wrote the thank-you letters, one of the unsung duties of the celebrity Girlfriend.

Did he ever speak about me? During  interviews, he gets the most directed questions about his love life but he is generally discreet about it. One time he had me as his WhatsApp Display picture for a considerable amount of time and ended up losing A few female friends.

What is it like?- I know this answer might be cliche, but it generally feels like it would with any other person. He eats, breathes, and sleeps like everyone else. I didn’t idolize him or treat him like he was better than me. Not even at the beginning stage. I’ve never really idolized any celebrity. He got on my nerves far more than I got on his (I think). He never lost his temper diva-style, but he had the propensity to whine-whine-whine whenever things in the biz were heading south. Many times I just wanted to walk out the door and not come back until he was over it. So we were a typical couple.

One thing that sort of brought us together was our unique love for the art of writing. I am a working content writer so we could relate and have respect to one another’s obligations. The truth was that he was a real big nerd/goofball who loved historical texts, vintage sci-fi, and Jesus, despite the fame he loved God—all things that appealed to me because they were so familiar. He had this eye-rollingly dorky sense of humor that reminded me of my dad’s. He could crank out a tune in a matter of an hour; he was just that brilliant that way. He was actually extremely introverted and spotlight-averse. No one knows how many times I had to coax him to go onstage whenever he was crippled by social anxiety.

I vividly remember him coming back to the hotel when I accompanied him for an event. I stayed back at the hotel as I normally would and At 2am I was still wide awake working on an assignment, he passed out the second he reached the bed, no hello kiss or anything. Similarly, he’s had several days off and I was stuck in an all day into late at night group writing sessions.

It’s nice how our dynamic organically shaped up: We don’t demand to be in one another’s face 24/7 yet we made time for each other.

He is quite witty which he has been able to express during appearances on Tv. That was one thing that really brought us together, our sense of humor is very similar. Yes, we complain and gossip about the people around us. it’s a pretty small world once you get in it.

I make decent money but I am by no means rich like he is, I especially loved how he consciously taught me how to watch my budget because making your living as a creative can be fickle. One great thing we have in common is that we don’t care to live lavishly, He could afford a more luxurious car but he had cars that simply gets him to point A and B without worry of mechanical break down. We eat out at pretty common non-upscale restaurants, although we made it a goal to go at odd hours when we were not likely to run into a fan, we cooked together. I never quite enjoyed the privilege of having my boyfriend escort me to the airport and kissing me goodbye at the waiting area, we couldn’t enjoy mundane things like taking walks around his estate or mine, going shopping at the mall or holding hands at a public function. we were very private as a couple and knowing how celebrities are under the public eye, 24×7, we were discreet about our relationship too. This is not too difficult though. What is difficult albeit is the fact that we can’t laugh, fight or display affection towards each other as regular couples do. One wrong move and media will judge. Likewise, we both have an unspoken pact of not posting mushy stuff about one another on social media. I never even commented on his posts.

Flattered because celebrities are charismatic with an established fan following and if you’re a girl next door, you wonder how on earth did you get lucky to grab his attention. Then you console yourself, you must have sounded smart for once ;).. But the icing on the cake is, you’ve an in-house entertainer at your beck and call. He practices and discussed plots with me; as a lover of literature and  art generally, I feel my creative juices stoked and willingly play the critic when asked. In addition, celebrities, are high on imagination. Its invigorating to discover his true personality out of all the spot light activities.

Biggest challenge– I work in Abuja Nigeria while he lives in Lagos, most Nigerian celebrities in the music and movie industry prefer to live in Lagos. For those that do not live in Nigeria, Lagos is One of the biggest cities in Nigeria. It has been described as the Los Angelis of Nigeria due to its beautiful nature and being the entertainment hub of Nigeria and Africa. Living in two different cities took a tole on the relationship but our reunions were precious. There’s a lot of anticipation and planning and our dates were never a rigmarole since we are perennially trying to pack in quality over quantity. That ensures novelty and romance in our equation. We also compliment each other a lot. While its not so important for me, I suppose for him, as an artist who feeds off on appreciation, this was an important quality of our relationship.

More of my point of view, but one pitfall in his celebrity status has made him the target of many girls to hit on him. Some of which had serious intentions of pursuing a romantic relationship. Even some people he worked with tried taking things further than just being platonic, including people in the industry fully well knowing our relationship status. He wasn’t superficial or infatuated with looks/thrills.

I cringe seeing a few episodes of him locking lips with another girl or pretending to be romantic with someone else. I caught myself feeling jealous a few times but I reminded myself that he was going home with me that night, not the lady.

Erratic schedule. I have a regular job that needs my attention between Mon-Fri. Weekends for me are to unwind. His schedule has no stability, per se and involves jet-setting around the country and sometimes, the world followed by periods of no work. Matching our schedule can be bit of a horror. Sometimes, we had to move our plans since he had a last minute shoot or rehearsals.

Curiosity among your friends. Your peers are more curious about your relationship with your famous boyfriend and need a minute by minute update on everything that’s going on in your life. In your bid to keep it real and private (since you too are testing waters), you suddenly start to alienate these friends. Its a slippery slope where you have to balance friendship and your most important relationship, love.

That’s it. That’s the gist.