ACTOR and broadcaster Patrick Doyle has praised his ex-wife, fellow actor Ireti Doyle, calling her a first-class mother.
In a recent interview with QEDNG publisher Olumide Iyanda, Patrick shared his thoughts on their relationship, which ended on a less-than-ideal note.
Patrick and Ireti married in 2004, five years after the death of his first wife from sickle cell anaemia. By 2017, the couple had separated, but Patrick emphasized that their relationship remains “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-degree mothering care,” he said.
The veteran entertainer made it clear that he’s not afraid to speak positively about his ex-wife, adding that if he cannot say something uplifting about someone publicly, he prefers to remain silent. Reflecting on a 2018 Facebook post that seemed like an apology to Ireti, Patrick explained that it was his way of calming tensions and taking responsibility for their marriage’s challenges.
“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 tensions were present at the time,” he stated.
Despite their divorce, Patrick and Ireti have worked together on several projects, including the 2023 thriller The Black Book.
In a Mothering Sunday post in March 2023, Patrick paid tribute to women who had impacted his life, including his late mother, Angela Doyle, his late elder sisters, Victoria Doyle and Ayodeji Alakija, and his late wife, Rosamond Doyle. Ireti’s name, however, was noticeably absent. When questioned by Iyanda about this, Patrick responded, “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 positively impacted me. Why should I remember something that ended in an unhappy way fondly? The outcome was not pleasant, so why should I tell that lie?”
The 63-year-old also spoke about his new wife, Olufunmilayo Doyle, expressing that he has never been happier. “Yes, I’ve never been happier in my life, and I say it with all responsibility. Do I not look like a happy man? Do I look my age? Am I not looking radiant? Have I looked this radiant in living memory? I’ve never been happier in my life.”
Addressing speculation that his happiness might be seen as a slight against others, he dismissed such thoughts, saying, “For anyone to think it was a slight on another person, that person must be very low on the food chain of humanity. How can you quarrel with a man’s happiness? Did I ever announce to you that I was unhappy? I said, ‘I have never been this happy,’ which means, ‘I’m at my happiest now.’ It means my past has been happy, now my present is happier, and my future is going to be even happier.”
Patrick and Olufunmilayo were married in a registry ceremony in August 2022, but he did not make their union public until March 2023. When asked why it took so long to announce his marriage, Patrick explained, “…My business is my business. On the day of the registry, she posted it on one of her handles. I told her to go ahead, but I said, ‘I’m not posting.’ So, it was not a secret. It was Mothering Sunday, and I decided to pay tribute to her alongside the other women who had impacted my life. I was not announcing my marriage to her.”