Renowned Nollywood actor Daniel Etim-Effiong has candidly shared that he once engaged in womanizing, though he emphasized it was only for a short phase of his life. During an interview with Chude Jideonwo, the actor, who transitioned from engineering to film, reflected on his past experiences with multiple women, describing it as a period of personal growth.
When asked, “Were you a womanizer before you got married?” Etim-Effiong responded, “It depends on what your definition of a womanizer is.” After Chude clarified it as “a man who dates multiple women at the same time,” the actor admitted, “Maybe there was a time in my life I was. Definitions would differ, but in that definition, maybe there was a period in my life that I was, I wouldn’t say for long periods of my life. Maybe for some certain periods that I explored. So, perhaps.”
Reflecting on those experiences, he acknowledged them as learning phases, stating, “Yes, they were periods of learning for me. If I learned, then they were good periods.” He further explained, “I learned that certain things don’t necessarily bring you the fulfilment that you think they would. On paper, it feels like that is the life, but experientially, maybe not.”
Etim-Effiong now advises young men against adopting a player lifestyle, warning that habits formed before marriage can persist afterward. “I tell young people a lot that it is cool to be a player, but if you develop that habit or lifestyle, you won’t automatically change overnight,” he said. “If you are not able to commit to one person, if you jump from one relationship to another, that won’t automatically change when you marry.”
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In the same interview, Etim-Effiong revealed how he ended up marrying his wife, Toyosi, after his then-girlfriend turned down his marriage proposal. He recalled being ready to settle down, but his partner at the time was focused on furthering her education abroad.
“I had a girlfriend at that time, and I told her that I think I am ready to get married, but she wasn’t ready,” he shared. “She said she had plans to go for graduate school in the United States, and she didn’t want to, for lack of a better word, be tied. And I was disappointed.”
Following this rejection, Etim-Effiong returned to Nigeria, where he met Toyosi, who was working as a production manager on a project he was involved in. “We had been talking before that time, but we met when we both came to Nigeria,” he said. After a heartfelt conversation about marriage, she agreed, leading to their union.
