‘If my dad says he wasn’t aware of my marriage to Judy, that’s his business’

Controversial actor-turned-politician Yul Edochie has reacted to his father Pete Edochie’s claim that he was unaware of the 44-year-old’s marriage to Judy Austin at the time it occurred.

Yul married May, an internet personality in 2004 and have three sons and a daughter. However, their marriage collapsed after May filed for divorce in August 2023.

In April 2022, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Yul introduced Judy as his second wife in an Instagram post.

They welcomed their first child, a son, Munachimso, in 2022.

In April 2024, Yul announced the arrival of their second son, Ndubuisi, who was then a year old.

Their third child, a daughter, was born in May 2025 and named Universe Ifeyinwa.

However, in August 2023, Edochie, a veteran actor, said in an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo that he learnt about his son’s second marriage online, just like the general public.

Responding more than two years later in a viral clip from his interview on the KaaTruths podcast, Yul dismissed his father’s comments, stating that they did not affect him.

I’m not a child

In the interview, which was posted on YouTube on 5 February, the actor said his father was entitled to his opinion and could say whatever he wished.

He said, “He’s entitled to whatever he wants to say. Like I always tell you, I emphasise this a lot so that more people can learn. At this age, my problem is not what my father thinks about my personal decision. Anything I want to do as a man in my personal life, I’m not a child. Do you understand? I should now be able to say, “This is good for me, and this is not good for me.”

“And that thing that is good for me, I go for it. I don’t have to explain or complain. Real men don’t explain or complain. You face it. Do you understand? So that’s me. Why did he say it? His business. How did it make me feel? Nothing.”

Respect

Yul added that he remained unfazed by his father’s remarks, noting that he’d continue to hold him in the highest respect.

He emphasised that nothing his father could do would provoke anger or lead him to confront him.

“Look, I’ll tell you something. You see that man, Chief Pete Edochie. I love him. That’s my father. I have a lot of love and respect for him. A lot. He cannot get me angry. Like, I mean, no matter what he says. If my father says, Yul, you are a fool. I’ll say, yes, sir. Yul, you are a bushman. I’ll say, yes, sir—anything he wants me to do for him. I’ll do it, and I’ll go away. I’m not moved. I love him. I respect him. He’s my father.

“He did his best to raise six of us. Of course, he’s not perfect. You know, I don’t expect him to be. But I love him. If my father comes here, even while I’m having this interview, and says, Yul, kneel. I’ll kneel. Till he is done, happy, and asks me to get up. Even at this age, at 44. Yes. That’s how much I love him. I don’t joke with my father. That’s me. So, whatever he says, he’s entitled to it. Why he decided to say it is still in his mind,” he said.