Dennis Okari, a media figure, has spoken out about his well reported divorce from his ex-wife Betty Kyallo.
On June 24, 2023, Okari gave a speech at the Daughters of Zion (DOZ) gathering that was hosted at the Jubilee Christian Church (JCC). He discussed the emotional toll, difficulties, and personal growth he went through during that time.
Okari, who was married to Betty Kyallo for six months, spoke about the devastating effect divorce had on his life and the unanticipated challenges that go along with it.
He acknowledged the myths around it and highlighted that no one joins a marriage expecting to choose divorce.
“Nothing can ever prepare you for divorce. You can watch movies and be led to believe it is an easy decision where you just walk in and walk out.”
Nobody enters marriage with the idea of being divorced, including myself.
Love is more than just feelings; it’s a decision, therefore the notion that you can fall in love, start a relationship, and get married is false.
It involves making a daily decision about the person you will spend the next 30 or 40 years with. At the ceremony, Okari said, “Unfortunately, that was not my reality, and it was a sad experience.
Okari used a potent analogy to explain his divorce, holding up five women to represent the numerous struggles he had to go through.
He imagined himself in the center of a legal dispute, a personal conflict, and divorce papers with a Bible in one hand and them in the other.
“I found myself so squeezed in the midst of that divorce that I couldn’t breathe. It was an extremely unpleasant experience. I was facing a legal battle that involved financial costs and the well-being of our children.
As the oldest child in a household where my parents are still married, I had little experience with divorce. Overwhelming feelings of failure, condemnation, and shame were experienced.
Okari opened out about the inner upheaval he experienced: “I slid into melancholy, anger, and emotions I never realized existed within me.
The media celebrity talked openly about the strain and criticism he endured from the public during this trying time.
Okari described how others made conclusions about him based on his actions and outward looks.
“Publicly, I had to maintain a strong facade. I couldn’t simply go to restaurants or walk freely without feeling the weight of people’s judgments. Everyone seemed to have an opinion, assuming that I must have been at fault. Behind the scenes, I fought a spiritual battle, as the scriptures clearly address divorce. This was the point where I felt isolated, with people taking sides. Anger and depression consumed me, and I even reached a point where I contemplated ending my life,”
Okari shared a very private moment in which he thought of killing himself by taking a deadly amount of medication and perhaps crashing his car on Mombasa Road.
He did emphasize that he had found comfort in his faith throughout this difficult time.
“I never imagined I would find myself in that state, but the voices in my head pushed me to the brink. While driving on Mombasa Road, I fixated on a boulder that had always been there, but that night, it was as if I could see it for the first time. In that desperate moment, God spoke to me, urging me to look up to Him. It was then that I learned the power of surrendering to God,”
