Ben Pol: Marriage to Anerlisa was a ‘mistake’
Tanzanian singer Bernard Michael Paul Mnyang’anga alias Ben Pol has for the first time shared details that forced him to dissolve his marriage to Keroche Breweries heiress Anerlisa Muigai.
The ‘Moyo Mashine’ hitmaker filed for divorce sometime in March of 2021, eleven months after the couple held a colourful wedding in the suburbs of Mbezi Beach, Dar es Salaam.
Speaking after months of what he described as a ‘healing process’, Ben Pol says it is not easy to single out specifics that led to their marriage falling apart.
However, the singer was quick to point out ‘insecurities’ on the part of Anerlisa as one of the main reasons that led to the collapse of their marriage.
The genesis of their troubles commenced in September of 2020 when things between them got heated up and they reportedly were not on speaking terms for a month.
“When reports emerged on social media last year that we had split, things were bad, we were not on speaking terms. It is true, we had split for about a month and a half. Things were bad to an extent Anerlisa sent me documents from her lawyers asking for a separation,” Ben Pol revealed.
They however managed to turn things around by the start of November and were back again serving couple goals. But that was short-lived.
“We were good until February this year when again the bubble burst. Again, we separated in episodes. We did not speak for three weeks, tried fixing things, and not long we were back in the woods and this time things were pretty intense,”
The singer believes insecurities got the better of Anerlisa and that complicated matters even more.
“Going back to the separation letter, from where I sit, I think it was driven by a lot of insecurities and fear. People do so much for the sake of protecting their image. I think she felt I knew so much and maybe one day I would blast. That’s just not me,” Pol went on.
“I found the letter from her lawyers baseless because it was actually gagging me not to speak about my marriage. I mean if you are married you have the right to speak about your marriage if you want to, how then do you gag someone from not speaking about their lives if they wish to do so.” he added.
Ben Pol, who insists he gave it all to try and save the marriage, says he got tired of the back and forth and hence made the bold decision and filed for divorce this year.
“I did my best, when I got into the marriage situation, I was serious, I wasn’t joking or passing time, I had invested in it. The reason why I did a lot of work to make it work and even if we are to do it again, I will not change anything. I will still do what I did to save the situation,” he adds.
He also believes the wedding shouldn’t have happened because there were so many red flags suggesting the marriage wouldn’t work but he kept ignoring the signals.
“What I regret most is the many signals that kept popping up but I kept ignoring them for a very long time. If I had not, the marriage wouldn’t have happened. I believe we are all empowered to foresee our future going by our gut feelings or instincts.
Ben Pol says she is still legally married to Anerlisa as per the Tanzanian laws as the divorce is yet to be finalized.