Nigerian actress and media personality Ariyike Owolagba, popularly known as Ariyiike Dimples, has opened up about why she stepped away from church for several years.
Speaking on a recent episode of the Open Up podcast, the actress recounted how an uncomfortable encounter with a church elder made her stop attending services for three years.
She explained that the incident happened after the woman criticised her choice of clothing.
According to Ariyiike, the elder confronted her for wearing a pencil skirt, insisting that the outfit was inappropriate for church and condemning her with the words, “I will go to hell fire.” She said the judgement left her embarrassed and frustrated.
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“In my community church, you see only elderly people. You barely see the young ones. The young ones have gone to other churches. It was too serious. Yes, you can have your doctrines, but there is a way you can simplify it for young people and take them in without judging them,” she said.
She added that the experience affected her so deeply that she stopped attending church entirely during that period, especially as the elder went as far as reporting her to her father.
“The reason I stopped going to church was because I wore a pencil skirt to church and an elderly woman said I will go to hell fire. I was shocked and felt wrongly judged so I stopped going to church for 3 years. And thankfully, I was already out of my parents’ house.
“The woman reported me to my dad. I had to take picture of the skirt and send to my mum to prove that I wasn’t dressing indecently. But my dad believed in the ideology of a community raising a child. So, I chose to avoid the community church so that they won’t see me,” she recalled.
Despite her long break, the actress clarified that she remains a Christian and still practices her faith outside the community church setting.
