Popular Nigerian comedian, Ayo Makun, popularly known as AY, and his wife, Mabel, have separated after 20 years of “friendship/marriage”.

The comedian confirmed the development in a post on his Instagram page on Sunday.

He said he had reached a stage where he could no longer entertain the public with “deep personal family issues.”

He wrote, “Many people believe that staying silent simply means that one is incapable of dealing with issues. Projecting a negative narrative against someone who is not struggling to defend himself doesn’t mean he is weak. Some of us are just logical enough to understand the difference between opinions, values, beliefs, and facts.

“The personality and ability that I possess simply confirm that I have reached that stage in my life where I can not be entertaining the public with deep personal family issues. They just might be too much to handle concerning the individuals involved. Not even when I have a grown-up daughter who has access to social media. Her mental health needs to be protected from seeing things she can not be proud of online.

“Yes! Without compromising my family, I have found myself doing some things that I am not proud of today. It is one thing to watch my friendship/marriage of 20 years slip off my hands, but it’s another thing for the parties involved to understand how to appropriate the blame in a space that is designed for most women to always play the victims and win. I can tell you for free that no one is completely innocent enough to cast stones.

“Presently, I am loving the way that lies about me in all these blogs are travelling faster than the truth. But my painful truth will eventually beat away all the lies.”

Also, in a post on her Instagram page on Sunday, Mabel said she had stopped reacting to disrespect.

She wrote, “Distance is my new response to disrespect. I don’t react, I don’t argue. I don’t dive into the drama. I just remove myself.”

Ayo and Mabel got married in November 2008, and they are blessed with two children.