Ashabi new romance sparks online reaction as the actress responds to a fan who urged her to keep her latest dating life off social media

Nigerian actress Omobolarinde Akinyanju, popularly known as Ashabi Simple, responded to a fan on social media in Lagos on Monday, August 10, 2026, after the fan advised her to keep her latest romantic outing away from the internet, with the actress making clear that she had only described the encounter as a casual date.

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Ashabi had earlier shared photographs and short clips from an outing with a mystery man, although she deliberately avoided showing his face.

The posts showed glimpses of the man, including his white outfit and black sunglasses, prompting social media users to speculate about his identity and the nature of their relationship.

Rather than confirming a new relationship, Ashabi described the encounter as a date with a stranger and suggested that she was simply enjoying a moment away from the pressures of everyday life.

Her response came after a follower cautioned her against putting a new relationship online, writing: “Keep this off social media. No real love.”

Ashabi answered with a playful but pointed remark: “Casual date. Person wey no happy make e go chop bitter leaf.”

The exchange quickly drew attention because of Ashabi’s well-publicised relationship history with Nigerian singer Habeeb Okikiola, popularly known as Portable.

Ashabi and Portable have two children together, but their relationship became increasingly strained in early 2026.

Ashabi later said she had blocked the singer because she wanted peace and needed to establish whether she could build a life without him.

In a February interview, Ashabi alleged that Portable had promised to marry her and said she had remained emotionally attached to him despite repeated disagreements.

She also said at the time that they were not on good terms and that she did not know what the future held for their relationship.

The relationship dispute had also entered the legal arena. Portable was arraigned in Ogun State in January following allegations arising from a New Year’s Day confrontation involving Ashabi and others.

The allegations have been reported as part of an ongoing legal dispute, rather than established findings of guilt.

Portable has separately maintained that his legally recognised wife is Omobewaji Ewatomi, commonly known as Bewaji, while describing other women with whom he has children as baby mamas.

Against that backdrop, Ashabi’s latest posts have naturally attracted attention, but her own description of the outing remains relatively restrained.

She did not identify the mystery man or explicitly announce a new relationship. Instead, her response suggested that she regarded the outing as an uncomplicated opportunity to have fun and enjoy someone’s company.

That distinction matters as online speculation continues to build around her personal life.

Ashabi’s decision to share moments from the outing while keeping the man’s identity private also appears to have given her some control over how much of the encounter becomes public.

Her light-hearted “bitter leaf” response, meanwhile, turned an unsolicited warning into a brief social media exchange, reflecting the increasingly familiar tension between public figures sharing personal moments and followers offering unsolicited opinions.

For now, Ashabi new romance remains more a matter of online speculation than a confirmed relationship.

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What she has confirmed is simpler: she went on a casual date, enjoyed the experience and was not particularly concerned about one follower’s warning over sharing it online.