Entrepreneur and mother of Davido’s first child, Sophia Momodu, has opened up about the backlash and ridicule she faced after becoming pregnant by the singer outside marriage.
Momodu shared her experience during a side panel at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, in a video posted on her Instagram Story on Tuesday.
Recalling the experience, she said growing up as a pastor’s daughter made the situation particularly difficult because of the stigma attached to having a child outside wedlock in Nigerian society.
“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,” she said.
Momodu said she eventually gained the confidence to tell her story publicly and discovered that many other women had experienced similar situations.
“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 also recalled an incident in which an aunt asked her to stop discussing her experience publicly.
“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.
She said speaking about her experience at various forums, including in South Africa, helped her realise 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 and singer David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, welcomed their daughter, Imade Adeleke, on May 14, 2015. DNA testing later confirmed Davido’s paternity.
The pair were involved intermittently before their relationship ended in 2022. They were never married.
Their co-parenting relationship has since been marked by several public disputes, including disagreements over access to their daughter, financial responsibilities and other personal matters.
In 2016, when Imade was an infant, Momodu and her uncle, publisher Dele Momodu, alleged that Davido’s family attempted to take the child out of the country without consent. The matter was eventually resolved.
In April 2024, Davido filed a suit at the Lagos State High Court seeking joint custody and unrestricted access to Imade.
Momodu opposed the application, saying she had never denied Davido access to their daughter and that any lapse in contact after July 2022 was by his choice.
The case continued through several hearings before Davido announced in February 2026 that he was withdrawing the suit. He clarified that he had sought joint, rather than sole, custody and said the only real loss was Imade.
Momodu, born in 1987, is the founder of the Precious Jewels Foundation, which focuses on the intellectual development and wellbeing of vulnerable women and children.
She also runs a fashion and beauty brand and has appeared on The Real Housewives of Lagos.
Her participation in the UNGA 81 side events forms part of her broader public advocacy work beyond her personal history with Davido.
