Nigerian media personality and entrepreneur Diiadem Adeola has opened up about the difficult experiences she endured as a child, revealing that she once sold sachet water under a bridge to survive after leaving her father’s home.

According to her, she ran away from home because of the difficult relationship she had with her stepmother and was forced to fend for herself at a very young age.

Speaking in a recent interview on With Chude, Diiadem shared that her childhood was marked by struggles she still finds difficult to talk about.

“I once sold pure water under the bridge and I’ve had struggles that I can’t even open my mouth to say. It was really hard, but I just wanted to survive,” she said.

Diiadem explained that her decision to leave her father’s house was largely influenced by her relationship with her stepmother, whom she described as extremely harsh towards her.

“That’s when I ran out of my father’s house because of my stepmother. She was so wicked towards me and we were never on good terms and even up till now because she has kids with my father,” she stated.

She revealed that her late stepbrother had told them about a relative who could take care of them and provide the better life they were searching for.

“My late stepbrother told me his mother has one cousin and when we go to her, she will take care of us and the life we’ve been looking for, we will get it,” she recounted.

However, when they arrived at the supposed destination, things did not go as planned.

“When we got there, he said the place had changed and he didn’t know his way around. I was very little then,” Diadem shared.

With very little money left, the siblings used what they had to purchase bowls and sachet water and started selling to make a living.

“The little money we had on us, we bought bowls and pure water and we started hawking,” she explained.

‘He hit me while I was six weeks pregnant’ – Diiadem recounts abusive relationship

Their attempt to sell sachet water, however, was met with resistance from other sellers.

Diiadem disclosed that she was unaware that sachet water sellers in the area had an association and that their unfamiliarity with the community immediately attracted suspicion.

“I didn’t know that the pure water seller used to have an association. When they came, they said our faces are new so they started asking questions,” she recalled.

After explaining that they were new to the area, the group reportedly confiscated and threw away the items they were selling.

“We told them we’re just new in the town and they just threw everything away,” she said.

With nowhere to sleep, Diiadem and her sibling were forced to spend nights in uncompleted buildings.

“We were sleeping in uncompleted buildings,” she added.

Diiadem disclosed that she was only about 10 years old at the time and had just one sister from her mother's side.

She further revealed that their circumstances became so difficult that there was a point when her sister contemplated taking her own life.

“I was like 10 years old then and I have just one sister from my mother. There was a time in our lives when my sister wanted to take her life and I had to stop her. I asked her if she’s okay because she wanted to take her life and leave me alone,” Diiadem stated.

Reflecting on their bond, Diiadem described her sister as more than just a sibling because they had depended heavily on each other while growing up.

“It was just the both of us, so she was my sister, my mother and my everything,” she added.



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