SUPERSATURDAY
Linda Ikeji’s celebration of her 40th birthday few days back was breathtaking. The superstar blogger literarily set the blogosphere on fire. No doubt, Linda deserves to party big, considering her landmarks while still just 40 years, writes Ferdinand Ekechukwu
Celebrity blogger, Linda Ikeji is 40! Thank God for her life, success and achievements. . . Super-rich Linda turned 40 few days back. To celebrate her big day, the media personality literally set the blogosphere on fire with her birthday mood. In a post she titled “Linda Ikeji splurges on 2020 Range Rover Autobiography, designer shoes and bags as she turns 40”, the internet sensation splashed pictures of the luxury items she gifted herself to mark her 40th birthday.
Linda @ 40 looks fulfilled. The single mum of one further showed off the designer shoes and bags and the new automobile while reflecting on her life and blessings. ‘’This is what 40 looks like. Sexy, successful, happy, almost fulfilled and super grateful for a beautiful life filled with amazing family and friends. God has been incredibly good to me and I don’t take my blessings for granted. Happy 40th birthday to me. I actually can’t believe I’m 40! What? Lol. Thank you so much in advance for all the beautiful birthday wishes. God bless you and yours!’’ she gushed.
As part of her special day celebration, the former model got herself 85 pairs of shoes. According to her, she wanted to get just 40 shoes but couldn’t stop buying more of the shoes as she was blown away by the designs. Showing off her 80 pairs of amazing designer shoes, she wrote ‘’OK, let’s do this! Hehe. Surrounded by my birthday present from myself to myself. I was going to buy 40 designer shoes to celebrate turning 40 and then I started shopping and couldn’t stop! Too many beautiful shoes to select from so I ended up buying 85 pairs… (80 in the pic, 5 on da way). And yes, I bought all of them at the same gaddam time! Who does that? me, that’s who!
“I’m so grateful, so thankful, so happy! Happy birthday to me! P.S, These photos don’t do the shoes justice’’ That wasn’t all, as she went on to share more photos of the designer bags she got to celebrate her special day. Linda showed off her amazing 32 bag collection. ‘’Ok, here we go again..lol. Surrounded by my birthday present from myself to myself. I was going to buy 40 new designer bags to celebrate turning 40. And then I started buying…and well, these bags are badly expensive so I stopped at 35. (32 in the photo and 3 on da way). And yes, I bought them all at the same gaddem time! Dear God, forgive me! But money is meant to be spent, right? I know I’m one of the lucky ones and I dont take my blessings for granted. Happy birthday to me!’’, she wrote.
Linda capped it all by splurging on a 2020 Range Rover Autobiography. ‘’Oh dear, here we go again! And last but definitely not the least of my birthday presents to myself is the 2020 Range Rover Autobiography. Ordered and on da way! Can’t wait to meet my new baby! I love my life, I swear! I definitely know I’m one of the lucky ones and I don’t take it for granted. One of the great things about being financially independent is that you can do whatever the heck you like! It’s your money, nobody can stop you! But don’t be reckless like me except you truly can afford to… Remember ladies, there’s nothing sexier than a woman with her own money. May God continue to bless the works of your hands. Happy birthday to me!” Linda wrote.
At 40, what’s next for Linda? The popular blogger had long looked forward to turning 40. Remember her infamous love post like a jilted lover some two years ago? Then 38, the controversial blogger had expressed and declared among many other things her wishes and looked forward to celebrating her 40th birthday with a man she could call her own in life. But that was not to be; her dream of building a family with her baby daddy (Sholaye Jeremi), crashed when she “fall pregnant” and gave birth to her lovely son, Jayce.
True to the baby mama, nothing is more important to her than family. “For years I’d hammered on how much I was looking forward to getting married, having children and building my own family and I believed God was going to come through for me on that one, but I have come to understand that we have no control over what life throws at us no matter how much we plan, pray, or work,” she reminisced. For years, most fans of Linda, knew their model as a self-styled celibacy advocate known for her stance against premarital sex.
Recall that Linda came under heavy criticism after she revealed her pregnancy outside wedlock. She even faced heavier criticisms after she revealed that she and her baby daddy had gone their separate ways. She went on to tell-all how their relationship started and how the man dumped her after impregnating her.
Linda is one of the most popular female celebrities not only in Nigeria, but in Africa. A couple of years ago, she was a struggling model. Now, the story has changed and bears inspiration. Nevertheless, she’s loathed as much as she’s loved.
In the course of her journey, Linda had courted controversy with daring posts and publications. In the line of duty, Linda fires quite a few guided missiles and she is also a sitting target to those who take a shot at her. In a celebrated episode which led many to question her integrity as a source of news, an aggrieved party had forced a temporary shutdown of her site. That incident is one of the valuable lessons that changed her work ethic. It taught her to be more careful. So, when it comes to the feedback of love or hate from the public, the celebrity blogger knows exactly where she stands.
Naturally, this should give her some cause for concern, but Linda keeps a clear head by aligning more with love. In one of his well elucidated Glitterati piece titled, “From Modeling to Blogging, The Story of Linda Ikeji,” Nseobong Okon-Ekong lucidly pictured her success story. Her rise to fame and wealth through a profession that was least known and respected in Nigeria is like a puzzle to many. So difficult to comprehend that some had resorted to attributing her success to some dubious means rather than through hard work. Years back, Linda was just a lady with a dream and few coins in her pocket like most people around.
Yet, she dared to press forward. Arguably, Nigeria’s most influential blogger, Linda is as surprised as everyone else at her astounding achievements. Her effort to wear the Miss Nigeria crown was a flunk. She felt like a failure. However, her life changed dramatically for good as she crossed the threshold of her 30th birthday. When she entered the public space as a model blogging didn’t exist and she most definitely didn’t expect that the expedition, which began in November 2006 would change her life so significantly. Back then, blogging provided a place to tinker her creative muse. She never envisioned the astonishing success.
Although, it took four years to get her first pay cheque, her endurance was hardly on trial because there was not much to hope for. “I was blogging consistently and passionately. It didn’t occur to me that I had built a lot of followership and brands were watching. I had thousands of people following me and I was very happy about it but I didn’t think it will translate to money or advertisement. The first time they came to meet me to pay me to post something, I found it very strange. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. In January 2011, I had my own advert rate and people started paying. That was it.”
