By Tofarati Ige Indeed, the life of a star is what the fantasies of billions of people are made of. Sadly, not all that glitters is gold. All the awesomeness that you see isn’t all there is to the life of a celeb. If you venture behind the scenes, you would be confronted with a putrid mess so dank it would make you puke. All the glitz that you’ve watched on TV and seen splattered on the cover-pages of magazines would then be exposed for what they truly are: Fantasy. Still, there is no arguing the fact that celebs live fanciful and glamorous lives both on and off screen, but it would interest you to know that the price they have to pay for such glorious life is so steep that many of them are actually wallowing in depression, while others are willing to trade it all for a simpler life. In this piece, we take you through a never-been-done-before, behind-the-scenes exclusive excursion into the excruciating sacrifices in the life of a star… Marriage failure While many human beings take this for granted, it is a luxury not all stars can afford. Even though marriage failure is on the rise in the society at large, that of the entertainment industry has always been on the high side, and on another level entirely. In fact, it’s difficult to find a celebrity with a happy home. Contemporary Highlife singer, Flavour, alluded to this when he proclaimed what everybody already knows regarding entertainers and marriage in a recent TV interview. He said, “Most of my colleagues, whenever they get married, everything starts crashing down. I keep asking people, have you ever seen a successful musician having a good home and a good career? It’s not going to be easy. If you know one, just tell me.” Flavour’s words above, as grim and dire as they sound, paint a good picture of how celebs view marriage. Jim Iyke with his new ridesJim Iyke with his new rides Addiction (Alcohol, drugs etc) Celebs are always expected to be happy and full of life, but that’s impossible since they’re not machines. Anyway, the stars have found ways to make themselves appear happy at all times! Alcohol and drug addiction is very prevalent in the world of celebrities. A large number of stars gorge themselves with mood-altering substances daily, and they attribute this to the pressure of having to appear happy always and satisfy fans. Besides, appearing energetic and entertaining on stage, or on camera can’t always be done with ‘clear eyes.’ As it is often said in the industry, sometimes, the eyes have to be made ‘dirty’ with things like alcohol and drugs. A prominent example is 90s golden boy, Majek Fashek whose glorious career ended up in the bottle. Fake life Stars are idols of the society, and people have high expectations of them. Many of them are placed on pedestals they do not really deserve to be on. As a result of this, they sacrifice their real personalities and live according to the image the public wants to see. Whenever stars want to buy cars, houses, or other material possessions, they often go beyond their capacity and acquire the most expensive items that’ll be the talk of the town, even if they can’t afford it. Sometimes, even when the said property isn’t theirs, they mislead the public into believing that they own it. Many celebrities have been caught in this type of lie so many times. Africa’s pride, Wizkid, flew into a rage recently when a blogger reported that his house in Lekki, Lagos, which many believed he bought was actually rented; and that his Porsche car is on hire-purchase. Some years ago ‘Soundtrack’ singer and former Square Records signee, May D, was also called out shortly after news, ostensibly from his PR team, surfaced that he had bought a N150m mansion in Lagos. It later became known that the house wasn’t his, but rented. Family neglect It is unfortunate that while celebrities’ careers are flourishing and they’re travelling first-class all around the world, their families are battling with the worst form of neglect. But that’s the reality. By the nature of their jobs, entertainers often have to be out of their homes for long periods. Be they singers or actors, they could be on tour or movie locations for months at a time. This definitely takes a toll on their family members who have to bear the brunt of their absence. The long periods away from home invariably lead to domestic violence, infidelity, and other negative vices which eventually destroy the family, both in the short and long-term. Public scrutiny Olamide @ Quilox nightclubOlamide @ Quilox nightclub How exhausting do you think it would be if members of the public who you don’t even know, and who don’t know you, are always poking their noses into your affairs, and they always have opinions concerning how you should live your life? That’s what celebrities have to deal with on a daily basis. Once they wear the toga of a superstar, the society turns themselves into judge and jury in matters of their lives. Fake love If you’re looking for true friends that’ll stand by you at all times, then the entertainment industry isn’t where you should be searching. It is a world of fair-weather friends and wolves in sheep clothing. Naija Ninja singer, Sound Sultan testified to this when he recently uploaded a picture of snakes on his Instagram page and wrote, “This is what I see when I look at the music industry. It won’t hurt to be straight forward in life…I tame snakes though. They be (sic) dancing to my flute.” Many celebs have grappled with the pain of betrayal on several occasions. Their trusted aides and confidantes are often the ones that stab them in the back. Depression It is difficult to imagine that celebs who seem to have it all can ever be associated with depression. Sadly, a lot of stars are depressed…but you may not know! Despite living glamorous lives, our screen darlings are also human, but sadly, lots of people don’t seem to remember that. Many celebs get crushed under the weight of having to appear strong all the time. Stars are usually exhausted from the pressure of having to please everyone at the same time; and this invariably leads to depression. Unfortunately, attention isn’t paid to this problem until the star has a meltdown. Celebrities that have battled depression in the past include Tonto Dikeh, Tunji ‘Teebillz’ Balogun, Halima Abubakar, among others.

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