Media personality and businesswoman Toke Makinwa opened up about her decision not to change her last name during her previous marriage and stated that she has no intentions of doing so in her next marriage.
Makinwa, who went through a divorce due to alleged infidelity, revealed that her ex-husband never pressured her to change her name and that it was never up for discussion.
She also mentioned that her ex-husband’s married sister, who is a respected doctor, didn’t change her name either.
Toke Makinwa emphasized that her name is a brand she has worked hard to establish and, even if she were to get married again, she would still not change her surname.
However, she expressed that she is open to their children adopting their father’s name.
In her words:
“I kept my last name when I get married. It was supposed to be Toke Makinwa-Ayida but it was only at home that he called me Mrs. Ayida, but I was always called Toke Makinwa.
But he understood as well because he came from a family where his sister was a doctor, an OBGYN, a very top one, and she’s always still known as Dr. Ayida, so he never had a conversation with me about baby, why can’t you change your name? Like he wasn’t wired that way, he didn’t care.
I hope that whoever I end up with next would actually love it because Toke Makinwa is staying. I don’t want to hyphenate, I’m not taking anybody’s last name. My name was and is Toke Makinwa. My kids can bear their father’s surname.
In my marriage, my passport, my bank details, nothing changed. We divorced, thank God it didn’t change [laughs]. Imagine what I would have gone through trying to change it back, “please help me o! I used to be former Ayida, I need to become Toke Makinwa my name”, no! I’ve built this brand with blood, sweat, and tears.“
