Nigerian singer Teniola Apata, popularly known as Teni, has shared intimate details about her upbringing and a major health turning point during a recent appearance on The Queen’s Mic podcast. The “Askamaya” star spoke candidly about her late father’s military background and the pivotal role her mother played in her recovery from a severe bout of COVID and the subsequent weight loss journey that left fans stunned.
Reflecting on her childhood, Teni painted a vivid picture of a disciplined household shaped by her father’s past.
“My father was a soldier before he became a businessman and his toys were guns. He was a gun collector so he had close to 30 guns. He loved guns a lot. He used to chase armed robbers, and sometimes even tell you, he’d shoot you if you dare misbehave,” she said.
The conversation then turned to a more recent and deeply personal chapter. Teni revealed how a particularly bad case of COVID left her struggling to breathe.
“There was a year I had COVID and it was so bad, I couldn’t breathe. My mum moved in with me to take care of my health. After I recovered, she also helped me kick-start my weight loss journey. Helped me with my diet and healthy meals. She was a voice of reason. It made such a huge difference,” she explained.
The support from her mother marked a clear before-and-after moment for the singer.
“I felt healthier, lighter and more energetic. I started to feel better. Sometimes you fall off a bit, but you pick yourself back up. I started to move better. My performances got better. People even started asking if I was smoking or using hard drugs because of how much weight I had lost,” Teni added.
This is not the first time Teni has addressed her transformation. In earlier interviews she confirmed she battled COVID twice between 2020 and 2021 and began a strict, natural diet and lifestyle overhaul in 2022 without any surgical procedures. The latest comments, however, put her mother’s hands-on involvement and the dramatic public reaction front and centre.