Heartbreak Abroad: Nigerian Man Reveals Why Marrying An Oyibo Woman Is A Big Mistake

A Nigerian man, Ifeanyi Eze, has shared the cultural adjustments he has had to make since marrying a white woman.

In a Facebook post, he recounted his first culture shock when he visited his wife’s uncle. At a family gathering, he was stunned to see the uncle cooking for everyone while his wife, daughters, and daughter-in-law sat around.

“I told my wife-to-be that such can NEVER happen in Enugu. Men don’t run around the kitchen when women are there,” he wrote.

Eze explained that marrying a white woman means being ready to “tolerate” practices a Nigerian man would not accept from women back home. He added that such marriages often come with a clash of cultures unless both partners are open-minded.

He stressed that Nigerian men who marry Caucasian women must be prepared to do without the “entitled free labour” they usually expect from Nigerian wives.

Using his own experience, he cautioned men:

“Don’t marry oyibo woman unless you’re ready to unlearn a lot. You’ll have to adjust. For instance, I told my wife she can’t address Umuada or Nwunyedi Age Grade as ‘you guys’ or greet Mothers’ Union with just ‘hi everyone.’ That’s disrespectful in our culture.”

Eze further revealed that husbands to white women must take on multiple roles beyond the traditional expectations in Nigeria.

He listed them as: singer, cheerleader, massage therapist, part-time chef, dog walker, cleaner, storyteller, laundry man, trash disposer, shopping assistant, handyman, driver, and financial planner.

“Bottom line is—when you marry outside your culture and race, you must be ready to accept what you wouldn’t tolerate from your own people, just as your spouse will also need to adjust,” he concluded.