According to the “Astalavista” hitmaker, her mother Obaapa Kaakyire Addo was just 17 and a half when she gave birth to her.
My mother gave birth to me at 17 - Wendy Shay
Afrobeats musician Wendy Shay has revealed that her mother had her when she was a teenager.
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Shockingly, her father passed away when she was just two and a half, creating a tough time in her upbringing.
She made the revelation during an interview on Joy News on Thursday, August 22.
“You know, most people don’t know about my upbringing – they don’t know how I started…” she revealed. “I lost my dad at the age of two and half, and my family seized all the properties he left behind so my mum had to start all over again. I didn’t have a great childhood. My mum had to relocate to Germany and hustled her way through before picking me and my sister from Ghana.”
She then apologised to her mother on the show before revealing: “I played the role of my mum’s partner and worked hand in hand. My mum got me at the age of 17. She was young so I was like a sister to her, and played a role in decision making in my nuclear family. When I worked, I had to put money on the table to help my mum. It’s not that easy without a father.”
She further stated that living abroad isn’t as easy as many perceive, adding that she used to buy mobile phones on credit while working as a nurse.
“People think that living in Germany will automatically give you money but that’s not true. Everybody living in abroad can testify. When you live in abroad, you have your own hustle. I had my own hustle.
When I was working as a nurse, if I want to buy a new phone, I have to buy on credit because I wouldn’t have enough to buy. I wouldn’t say buying a phone of my choice is an achievement but the fact that I don’t have to buy on credit. It had always been my dream.”
Watch the full interview below.
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