Cool FM OAP, Ifedayo Olarinde (popularly referred to as Freeze), has described the woman many see as the cause of the problem with his wife as just good friend.
Benedicta Nkemdilim Elechi, the 30-something-year-old CEO of Ditachi Foods, has been mentioned on numerous occasions in connection with the ongoing faceoff between the Olarindes.
When qed.ng contacted the man in the middle of the storm for comments on Tuesday, he replied in six words: “Benedicta and I are just friends”.
Freeze and his estranged wife, Ope, have taken their marital troubles from the bedroom to the court and then to social media.
He declared in February that “I am a separated father of two, who has been separated for a long time, seeking dissolution of my marriage citing irreconcilable differences. I have realised that silence breeds lies and confusion.”
He followed that up with recent allegations that his wife was a “violent adulteress” who violently assaulted him anytime it caught her fancy.
Ope, however, denies the claim, saying “he has tried ceaselessly and without any restraint to upset and assassinate my character but I have decided to keep my calm because it is not in my character to sensationalize issues”.
She continued: “I would like to state here categorically that I AM NOT AND NEVER HAVE BEEN A VIOLENT ADULTERESS!
“I understand that he is desperately seeking attention and publicity to generate a livelihood, but it is unnecessary to peddle lies and traumatise both the children and I in the process.
“I wish him well and will still make time to pray for him despite the fact that he is keen on destroying us to make space for his new family”.
That new family is believed to be made up of Benedicta and a baby boy he recently fathered.
The University of Ibadan Sociology graduate fed speculations that Benedicta was the one taking his wife’s place with comments like “you are looking beautiful” and “my angel” he wrote on the former’s Instagram page.
He was so painstaking in following her on social media that he either commented on or retweeted a number of her posts.
In a recent interview, he declared: “Yes I am in a relationship”.
He continued: “She is a lot younger than I am and she does not have four children. I didn’t start dating her until three or four months after Ope deserted our matrimonial home leaving me in a severe state of depression. She has been wonderful to me, gave me a shoulder to cry on and picked me up from the mess I was in. My family adore her and her family is really cool with me and I am praying to GOD that she will be my last bus stop”.
Freeze and Ope got married in February 2002 after a three-year courtship. They met as undergraduates at the University of Ibadan.
Benedicta, from Awka in Anambra State, is a graduate of Analytical Chemistry from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology.
Known in her university days as “The Female Dangote, her hobbies include swimming, watching movies and going to the gym.
According to her, “going into yoghurt business remains my biggest risk, and then diversifying into bakery and confectionery with almost 100% of my proceeds from the yoghurt business without any bank or family support simply crowned it all”.
She obviously does not see her relationship with Freeze as a risk.
