Sophia Momodu shares her experience as a pastor's daughter and facing stigma after pregnancy

Entrepreneur and mother of Davido’s first child, Sophia Momodu, has shared the backlash she faced after getting pregnant by the singer without being married.

Momodu spoke at a side panel during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York. She posted a video about it on her Instagram Story on Tuesday.

Reflecting on her life, Momodu said she grew up as a pastor’s daughter. She noted that having a child outside marriage is heavily frowned upon in Nigerian society.

She said, “This is my life story. I am a pastor’s daughter who got pregnant out of wedlock by a global superstar. And I was mocked. It was crazy. And I had to find my strength in the midst of all of that.

“And for the longest time, I didn’t have a voice. I was famous, I was popular, but I didn’t have a voice. It kept getting drowned out by whatever negativity was around that story.

“If you’re Nigerian and you’re here, you know that it’s almost a taboo to be a pastor’s daughter and have a child out of wedlock.”

Momodu found the courage to speak about her experience publicly. She discovered many other women had gone through similar challenges.

“So, I needed that story to be truly understood, and I’m so grateful for Stephanie because her story gave me that platform. I felt like that put fire in my… I just kept going,” she said.

She recalled how an aunt once reached out to her, urging her to remain silent about her situation.

“And then, an aunt called me one day and said a friend of hers had called her to talk to me to please keep quiet, because this is not a topic that we are allowed to talk about as Black women,” Momodu said.

Sharing her story at various events, including in South Africa, helped her understand she was not alone.

“And I just wanted to say that because of her story, Google, I’ve told my story at forums. I’ve talked about this in places like South Africa, radio stations, and it was just amazing to see that I was not alone. There were so many women that came to me and said, ‘Listen, it happened to me too.’

“And I was like, ‘Wow.’ I’m just grateful for the platform, I’m grateful to be able to tell my story, and because of people like Stephanie and these amazing women on this panel, I don’t think I would ever stop telling my story.”

Momodu had a relationship with Davido, whose real name is David Adeleke. They welcomed their daughter, Imade Adeleke, on May 14, 2015.

DNA testing later confirmed Davido as the father.