Chef Amaka, wife of Nigerian health influencer, Aproko Doctor, has opened up about the painful emotional toll of being diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome shortly after her marriage, revealing that the cruellest blow came from comments questioning her husband’s fertility.

The celebrity chef and content creator, whose real name is Chiamaka Nwakalor-Egemba, explained that she and Aproko Doctor, whose real name is Chinonso Fidelis Egemba, got married in June and were looking forward to building their life together. However, just three months into the marriage, she noticed she had missed her menstrual cycle and sought medical attention, where doctors diagnosed her with PCOS, a hormonal condition that can affect ovulation, fertility and weight.

Amaka said the condition brought about visible changes in her body, including weight gain and a broader upper-body frame, which made her a target of unkind remarks from people around her. She recalled being told she looked older than her husband and being mockingly referred to as “the man of the house,” comments she found difficult to shake off as time went on. But she said the most devastating remarks were the ones directed at her husband, with trolls questioning his masculinity and claiming he was not capable of fathering a child simply because the couple had not yet conceived.

“What made me cry was when they said my husband is not man enough to father a child. In my head, I’m like all this because I’ve never conceived,” she said, describing how deeply the comments affected her despite knowing the true cause of their delayed conception rested with her diagnosis and not her husband.

Rather than stay silent, Amaka has chosen to speak openly about her PCOS journey to raise awareness and challenge the stigma often attached to fertility struggles. She urged people to show more compassion to couples dealing with infertility, noting that such experiences already come with enough emotional weight without the added burden of public mockery and unfounded assumptions about masculinity or femininity.