Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh and her ex-husband Olakunle Churchill have set aside a decade of public conflict to jointly celebrate their son King Andre Churchill on his 10th birthday on Tuesday.
The former couple appeared together in photographs shared on Dikeh’s Instagram page on Tuesday morning, posing alongside their son in coordinated outfits. The images drew an outpouring of goodwill from fans and public figures across Nigerian social media, with many commenting on the visible warmth between the reunited parents.
The birthday reunion marks a significant public milestone in a co-parenting relationship that had for years been defined by legal disputes, competing public statements and broken communication. Dikeh announced a reconciliation with Churchill in January, revealing that faith and the intervention of mutual supporters had helped end hostilities that began following their divorce in 2017.
Churchill, who has been married to Gambian-born actress Rosy Meurer since 2019, said he was deeply moved when King Andre called him for the first time earlier this year. He described the moment as a reminder of what reconciliation and forgiveness could produce and credited Dikeh as an exceptional mother for facilitating the reunion.
Following the reconciliation, Dikeh reversed her 2019 decision to remove Churchill’s name from their son’s identity. King Andre is now publicly addressed as King Andre Churchill, restoring the surname she had changed to Dikeh following the divorce.
Dikeh accompanied the birthday photographs with an extensive spiritual tribute, covering her son in prayer and declaring protection, purpose and longevity over his life. She prayed for divine favour, preservation from harm and the fulfilment of destiny on behalf of the 10-year-old, who was born on February 17, 2016, during the couple’s marriage.
Dikeh, who married Churchill in 2015, cited domestic violence as the primary reason for her divorce, a claim Churchill consistently denied publicly. The couple’s post-divorce period was marked by sustained controversy, including disputes over custody, media interviews, and competing legal actions that kept them in Nigerian headlines for years.
The actress, a prominent figure in Nollywood since the early 2000s and a former governorship candidate in Rivers State, has raised King Andre largely in her care since the divorce. Over the years she has marked each of his birthdays with elaborate celebrations, including the purchase of a Scottish real estate title for him on his sixth birthday, which conferred the designation of Lord on the child.
Dikeh also made a light-hearted plea to her millions of Instagram followers on Monday, asking them to celebrate King Andre’s photos enthusiastically to impress her son, to whom she had promised she was one of Nigeria’s most popular public figures.
Churchill separately shared his own message celebrating his son’s birthday on his own social media page.
