“I learnt to accept what I am” — Phyna

Ijeoma Josephina Otabor, widely known as Phyna and the winner of Big Brother Naija Season 7, recently opened up about her childhood experiences, where she had to plead for her parents’ affection and love.

This revelation comes in the wake of allegations made by her father, Felix Otabor, accusing her of neglecting her family since claiming the N100 million BBNaija prize in 2022.

In a viral interview conducted on Saturday, Felix Otabor expressed his disappointment, stating,

“She disappeared into thin air as soon as the prize money was handed over to her, and she never returned home to butter our bread.”

Phyna, visibly affected by the public backlash and her father’s comments, took to her Snapchat account on Saturday night to share her side of the story and shed light on her troubled upbringing.

“Growing up, I always heard, ‘You are not my daughter.’ Yet, I would beg for parental love,” Phyna candidly confessed in her Snapchat post.

“The truth is, I have always begged people to love me. Today I have finally accepted it. No wonder, I for say. Guess I’m an ORPHAN,” she wrote, revealing the deep emotional scars from her childhood.

Phyna in her social media post tried to underscore the emotional turmoil she had to deal with in her formative years, in her battle to gain her parental affection.