On January 8, 2010 we witnessed a high profile celebrity break up in Nigeria between Toni Payne and his popular musician husband, 9ice. As at the time of the separation, speculations were rife as to what had caused their marriage to break down. A newspaper outfit in Lagos claimed that the marriage was ended because of constant infidelity on the path of 9ice. The writer of the story went on say that a particular Female Lagos socialite was having an affair with 9ice and that Toni Payne ended the marriage based on that reason.

But since then, many stories have surfaced through the media regarding the real reason why the couple broke up. One the constant rumours that we have been hearing is that Toni Payne had an affair with his 9ice’s best friend, Rugged man. With the rumour gaining momentum, It didn’t help that 9ice released a song in his current album called once bitten twice shy. In the song, he depicts a picture of catching his wife performing a sexual act on a friend with her mouth. Although he did not mention names, fans and people alike have been attributing the song to infidelity on the path of his estranged wife.

On April 20th 2010, Toni Payne finally broke her silence on the issue and updated her Facebook status with a line that can be viewed below:

Toni Payne's initial FaceBook status update

It was quite interesting to see that the status attracted a staggering 230 comments, perhaps the highest we have encountered on Facebook. The man Toni Payne was alleged to have committed a sexual act on, rugged man was also involved in the comment thread. In the thread, he argues with a fan about how true the story was. See Below:

Rugged man argues with fan

In another Wall post rugged man further adds fuel to fire by calling out 9ice. He says: So 9ice where are you?

Rugged Man calls out 9ice!

In the eyes of the world, 9ice and Toni Payne was the perfect couple before their abrupt split and no one has been able to cite an actual reason for the breakup. Perhaps Toni Payne’s decision to tackle the issue head on might help clear the air.

Tagged as: 9ice, Naija music, Rugged man, Toni Payne