Aftermath Annie Macaulay’s rebrand, Natasha adopts ‘Idibia’ as surname

On Thursday, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Annie Macaulay, the ex-wife of singer Innocent ‘2Baba’ Idibia, returned to social media and her rebrand.

The actress deleted all her Instagram posts and yanked 2Baba’s surname from her social media handle.

The singer announced the end of their 12-year marriage on 27 January in a shocking Instagram post, which sent social media into a frenzy.

While all of these may no longer be news, fans of the erstwhile power couple were shocked on Sunday.

The Deputy Majority Leader of the Edo State House of Assembly dropped her father’s surname, Osawaru, from her Instagram profile. She now identifies as ‘Natasha Idibia’, with the singer’s surname displayed in capital letters.

Her name change further fueled speculation of a secret marriage between them, the rumour they addressed during their recent shopping spree at entrepreneur Seyi ‘Seyivodi’ Adekunle’s boutique.

While shopping, the lawmaker and the ‘African Queen’ hitmaker revealed their wedding month and mentioned that they were selecting outfits for the occasion.

The name change and wedding plans unfold after 2Baba’s family declared him missing and filed a petition with the State Security Service (SSS) seeking assistance.

This newspaper earlier reported that 2Baba had made several public appearances with Ms Osawaru despite being declared missing a month ago.

They attended Senator Ita Giwa’s 79th birthday celebration and visited the mansion of Ms Osawaru’s grandfather, the Esama of Benin, Gabriel Igbinedion.

Despite these public sightings, neither 2Baba’s family nor the SSS has confirmed locating him.

Reactions

The lawmaker’s adoption of 2Baba’s surname has ignited controversy on social media, especially in the coming days after Annie dropped the name without explaining her reasons.

Netizens have shared positive and negative reactions to the name change.

Here are some of their comments.

Background

The 49-year-old singer unveiled Ms Osawaru as his fiancée just sixteen days after announcing his divorce from his actress wife, Annie.

Following the announcement, he publicly declared his love for the lawmaker and proposed to her on the eve of Valentine’s Day.

Since then, their pictures and videos have frequently dominated gossip headlines, as they regularly make public appearances at events.

2Baba and his ex-wife began their relationship in 1999 as a friendship that blossomed into love.

READ ALSO:Has 2Baba secretly married Natasha?

Annie gained widespread recognition in 2004 after starring in 2Baba’s iconic ‘African Queen’ music video. In 2008, they welcomed their first daughter, Isabella.

In 2012, 2Baba proposed to Annie on Valentine’s Day in Lagos, and they had a private wedding the same year. Their grand white wedding followed in Dubai on 23 March 2013, and in 2014, they welcomed their second daughter, Olivia.

Their marriage faced challenges, primarily due to 2Baba’s past relationship with Pero Adeniyi, the mother of three of his children.

Despite tensions and public controversies, the couple renewed their vows in 2022 to mark their 10th anniversary, reaffirming their commitment and remaining one of Nigeria’s most admired celebrity couples.