I wanted girl-child, struggled to bond with my son – Tiwa Savage

Tiwa Savage (Nigerian singer-songwriter and actress)

Afrobeats star Tiwa Savage has opened up about the difficulties she faced after her son, Jamil, was born in 2015.

Speaking on the FlowWithKorty podcast, the 45-year-old singer admitted she had really wanted a daughter. She explained that she felt very let down when she found out she was having a boy, and this made it hard for her to bond with him at the start.

Tiwa also spoke about the pressures of her career. She lost a big advertising deal because her look changed during pregnancy, which left her feeling like her son had "destroyed" her career. She said the changes to her body and the impact on her job made it even harder for her to connect with him emotionally during those early days.

“Honestly, I didn’t bond with my son for the first year or two. I always wanted a girl. They told me it was a boy, and I started crying.

“So, when he came he was always crying and my body didn’t snap back. I looked horrible. I was supposed to do a campaign with Pepsi at the time and they turned me away. And I just thought this boy has destroyed me. But now, he is my best friend,” Tiwa Savage said.

Tiwa Savage was married to talent manager Tunji ‘TeeBillz’ Balogun for five years, and they had their son, Jamil, in 2015.

The singer says she is now focused on raising Jamil to be a kind and respectful man. Because of the pain she went through in her past relationships, she often tells him how important it is to treat women with care and respect.

“I always tell him, your mum suffered oo, make sure you treat any girl like a queen. It is very important for me to raise him as a good man. He is going to make mistakes, he is not perfect. But at the core of him, I want him to be kind,” she added.

In the emotional interview, Tiwa Savage also shared that she has been unlucky in love. Apart from her late partner, she explained that her other relationships have not worked out.

“There is hardly any relationship I would look back at and see anything positive. They are all d***! Actually, there is one, but he passed away. May his soul rest in peace. He was incredible,” she said.