Ivy Ifeoma: I was a millionaire before marrying Paul Okoye

Ivy Ifeoma, wife of Nigerian singer Paul ‘Rudeboy’ Okoye, has shared her thoughts on how women should approach the idea of marriage.

In a recent Instagram post, Ivy discouraged women from making marriage to a wealthy man their main life objective.

According to the social media influencer, women would be better off concentrating on creating their own financial stability and self-reliance, rather than depending on a spouse for economic security.

Ivy also addressed speculation about the age gap between her and Okoye, saying she was already financially independent before meeting him.

“This is my take on the idea of marrying a rich man and before you come for me, know that I was a millionaire before I met this man [Paul Okoye],” she said.

“To be honest, marrying a rich man should not be anybody’s primary goal. Because will you want to marry someone else because they are rich. It is their money not your money.

“I’d rather you say you marry a generous person. Don’t get me wrong, marrying rich is a very good add-on that opens doors of opportunity for you. But what I would tell you instead as a woman is to get rich.”

The 25-year-old went on to illustrate her point using an analogy. She then encouraged her followers to consider the preferences of wealthy men.

“Have you ever stop to consider what the rich man preferences would be? Now using that analogy, I would like to think a rich man would prefer to be with someone who is ambitious, very much invested in herself,” she said.

“I always work like nobody is coming to save me because I like to remove the expectation the expectation that somebody is coming to save me. I have always been very independent, and I like getting things for myself without asking.

“That is why I work really hard regardless of where I am or who I am attached to. I am also just trying to ‘de-influence’ younger girl from the illusion that the main goal is to marry a rich man.

“Instead of putting the focus on men, how about we focus on building our own depth. Let the rich men be the add-ons, and not the goals that we are chasing after.”

Ivy was introduced online as Okoye’s partner in December 2022 when she was 22.

They coupled welcomed their first child together in November 2024.

Their relationship stirred backlash on social media, with some users criticising him for ending his 8-year-old marriage with Anita Isama.

In May 2024, the couple held their traditional marriage rites in Abia state.

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