• Singer said she endured infidelity and five years of abuse but he says she was misled/
• Omba said one should focus on their husband and avoid listening to rumours from outside.
Image: COURTESY
When Gloria Murilo walked out of her marriage with pastor Eric Omba, she cited infidelity.
The couple had married in 2009 in a colourful wedding. And now the ex-husband says he did not cheat on the singer.
Speaking in an interview on Switch TV, Omba said Gloria relied on rumours from her friends.
"I have not seen any picture of a woman I was dating, and she did not have any evidence that I had a relationship with another woman," he said.
"There was also no woman who came out publicly to say I was in a relationship with them. She was saying what she had heard from her friends.
"I was so much faithful. She was very good and very nice. What she has every other woman has, and so there was no need of me to cheat on her."
Omba said one should focus on their husband and avoid listening to rumours from outside. "It will cause more damage and ruin your marriage," he said.
In an earlier interview, Gloria said she did not want to deal with outsiders, but God decided to show her the truth.
Gloria had said Eric, who was also her manager, started being a control freak and dictated everything around her career and worse, began misappropriating funds earned from her music career.
She said the first insight into his love for money was during the night of their honeymoon.
Eric reportedly waited for her to go to the bathroom and, before going through the gifts they had received at the wedding, took the money from the envelopes and stashed it in his pockets.
Gloria added that she did not leave as she believed in marriage.
After month, Eric began accusing “me of all manner of things and never gave me time to talk. He even wrote down a set of rules that I had to follow".
"In that first month, he sent me over to a friend’s place, saying to teach me how to cook and keep good hygiene, only to discover that I was being turned into a house girl,” she said.
"He went back to our house and expressed delight at how he was happy at home without me. In the first year, he packed my clothes and asked to escort me away. He had gotten violent over time and he offered no space for communication and dialogue.
"Someone may ask why it took me five years. I was determined to make it work. I am not saying I tried my best, no. I did all my best, in fact,” Gloria said.
"People may criticise from afar but they have no idea what I was going through. Only a few people in my circle know and can tell.
"It has been a challenge and a learning process. Through it all, I have learnt a lot of lessons. It wasn’t easy."