Actor and broadcaster Patrick Doyle has explained why he did not include his ex-wife Ireti Doyle in his 2023 list of women who have played maternal roles in his life.
In his March 2023 Mothering Sunday post on Facebook, the movie star listed women who have impacted him — his late mum Angela Doyle, late elder sisters Victoria Doyle and Ayodeji Alakija, and late wife Rosamond Doyle.
When QEDNG publisher Olumide Iyanda pointed out that Ireti’s name was missing in the post, the actor said in a recent interview: “If the person is missing then the person is missing. Has she told you that she was happiest with me? If I’m not true to myself then I’m an agbaya. My late mother, my sisters and my late wife; they impacted me in a positive way. Why should I remember something that ended in an unhappy way fondly? The outcome was not pleasant so why I should tell that lie?”
Mr Doyle and Ireti got married in 2004, five years after his first wife died of sickle cell anaemia. By 2017, they were no longer together.
He told Mr Iyanda that their relationship now is “very cordial”.
“Ireti is a first-class mother and provider for her children. She’s taking care of my daughter. How can I wish her ill? As far as mothers go, they don’t come any better. She provides 360 mothering care,” he said.
The actor noted that he is not afraid to make complimentary statements about his ex-wife, adding that if he cannot say something edifying about someone in public, he would rather not say anything.
He said his 2018 post on Facebook which was like an apology to Ireti was to calm tension and take responsibility for the situation in their marriage at the time.
“It is my duty as a man to say you don’t look happy. Whatever happens, the responsibility for the stability of the home is that of the head of the home. So that was a bid to fulfil my responsibility to ease whatever the tensions were at the time,” he said.
Since their divorce, Doyle and Ireti have featured together in a few projects, one of them is the 2023 thriller The Black Book.
Doyle is now married to Olufunmilayo. They exchanged marital vows in August 2022.
