MATTERS ARISING: 17, 19, 21? What was Regina Daniels’ age when she married Ned Nwoko

The question of Regina Daniels’ “actual age” at the time of her marriage to Ned Nwoko, the senator representing Delta north, in 2019, remains a mystery with multiple and conflicting pieces.

The answer, it seems, now depends on which source you consider most credible.

Back then in 2019, the actress’ mother Rita Daniels, who was at the centre of backlash for giving out her young daughter’s hand in marriage, appeared on the BBC to issue a simple, defiant statement stating “my daughter was twenty”.

The storm, for a time, subsided.

But six years later, a single, tear-streaked video would blow the embers back to life. A clip of a weeping Regina, alleging violence, sent the public spiraling back into the couple’s past.

The 64-year-old senator’s counterclaim was severe. He painted a picture of a wife battling drug and alcohol addiction, her credibility shattered by her “current mental condition”.

As their private war spilled into public view, the question of the actress’ age, a ghost from the couple’s past, had returned to haunt their present.

A Triptych of Truths

The answer to that question depends entirely on which portrait you believe.

The first portrait was 17, recently painted by fellow actresses Mercy Johnson and Sonia Ogala, who claimed to have seen her birth certificate.

While her Wikipedia page showed she was born on October 10, 2000, (19), the actresses argued she was 17 at the time of her marriage.

“She was 17. Teen. At 17, I was still figuring out personal hygiene. Some 17 year old boys are still learning how to wipe their a***s. But now we expected perfection from her because she is on camera?” Johnson wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post.

Ogala added: “Only a mother will tell you when she gave birth to her child. I’ve seen Regina’s birth certificate and her international passport. Gina was born 10 October, 2001. She got married sometime in May 2019. She was 17+ when she married”.

The second portrait is of Ned. On Wednesday, the lawmaker denied claims that Daniels was 17 when they wed, stating he married her “honourably” at the age of 19.

He emphasised that the union was a public affair with her family’s full involvement, noting that her mother “personally brought her to me”.

“For clarity, Regina Daniels was born on October 10, 2000. If she has been married for six years, that means she got married at 19 years old, not 17,’’ he said.

To prove his point in a follow-up statement on X on Thursday, the politician shared a Nigerian voter’s card, its official seal marking her birth year as 1998.

But then, from the same man, comes a third, more confusing sketch. He recounted the story of their first meeting, where the actress herself claimed to be twenty-one. It was this very claim, he said, that prompted him to ask for proof — the same voter’s card he now holds aloft.

“For clarity, during my first meeting with Regina, I asked her age, and she told me she was 21 years old. I further asked if she had any document to support this, and she presented her inec voter’s card, which clearly shows that she was born on October 10th, 1998,” he said.

The senator clarified the timeline, stating that “according to all verifiable records, our marriage took place six years ago, which means Regina is 27 years old today. Any suggestion that I married her at 17 is false”.

The public is left with a trinity of ages, each supported by fragments of evidence and testimony. In the absence of a single, universally verified and publicly scrutinized record — like an original birth certificate — the question of Daniels’ actual age at her marriage remains open, a ghost at the feast of their controversial union. The number you believe may ultimately depend on which story you trust. (The Cable)