After 28 years of marriage, Asu Ekiye is announcing the end of his union — one year after it actually ended.

The gospel singer, popularly known as the Prince of the Niger Delta, revealed on August 20 that his marriage to Kunemofa Asu had come to an end. The couple married in 1998 and have four children. Ekiye said the marriage ended in 2025, but he deliberately waited before making it public, saying he needed time for “perspective, clarity and quiet acceptance.”

No accusations, shade,subtweets, explanations. Ekiye chose something different.He allowed a year to pass before telling the public that a marriage of 28 years had ended.

This says something about the difference between ending a relationship and announcing its ending.The public may only be hearing the news now. Nevertheless,for the people inside the marriage, the ending happened much earlier.

Then, two days after his initial announcement, Ekiye offered more context. He said the decision to dissolve the marriage was initiated by his wife, who moved out and subsequently began divorce proceedings. He said he spent about a year trying to reconcile before accepting that the marriage would not continue.

His wife has not publicly responded to that account in the reports reviewed.

So the public has one side of the story — and a reminder that a 28-year marriage can contain an entire history that outsiders will never fully see.

Twenty-eight years together did not make the ending impossible.The fact that the marriage ended did not mean the announcement had to happen immediately.People leave the relationship long before they are ready to tell the world.Sometimes the public announcement is not the beginning of the story.

After 28 years together, how long should people wait before announcing that a marriage has ended — immediately, or only when they have made peace with the decision?