Nigerian veteran table tennis player Funke Osinaike has opened up about her failed marriage, alleging that she endured physical and emotional abuse for more than a decade.
Osinaike, who confirmed that she is divorced, made the disclosure while speaking about her personal life in a recent interview.
The former table tennis star alleged that her ex-husband repeatedly abused her and struggled to cope with the attention she received as a successful athlete.
Osinaike said the situation became unbearable, alleging that she suffered physical and emotional abuse for more than 10 years.
“I was really, really, really physically and emotionally abused. A lot of people don’t know that about me. I was physically abused for more than ten years. I was dying and nobody knows,” she said.
She alleged that the physical abuse occurred regularly, sometimes in the presence of their children.
According to her, she occasionally ran to her children’s room to escape the attacks, but alleged that her former husband followed her there and continued the assault.
Asked whether the abuse occurred in front of her children, Osinaike said it did, adding that people in Hamburg were aware of what was happening.
She also said she reported the situation to her pastor but was advised to continue praying for her husband.
Osinaike said she eventually found the courage to leave the marriage after years of enduring the alleged abuse.
She also alleged that her former husband was uncomfortable with the attention she received as a successful athlete and accused him of being unfaithful.
