A Summary Write up of the Lives of the 5 Richest Kings in Africa

A brief walk into the lives of the 5 richest kings in Africa- Otumfuo Osei-Tutu

 (News Ghana)

Being a traditional monarch in Africa can be a lucrative affair. We take you on a brief walk into the lives of the 5 richest kings in Africa, according to Forbes.

Many of the leaders in Africa control large fortunes within their communities and without. In addition to their wealth is influence which results in some of them getting invited to join boards of large corporations.

For instance, the Obi (King) of Onitsha in South-Eastern Nigeria, Obi Nnaemeka Achebe, serves as the Non-Executive Chairman of Unilever Nigeria, a large publicly-listed manufacturer of consumer goods, and he previously served as Chairman of Diamond Bank, a leading Nigerian commercial bank. Same goes for the Alake (King) of Egbaland in South-Western Nigeria, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, who is the Chairman of Oando, a large Nigerian energy company.

Some of these monarchs have built their fortunes from scratch by starting successful enterprises and shrewdly reinvesting their profits into a diverse range of business concerns. Others have simply had wealth transferred to them by their forefathers.

1. King Mohammed VI, Morocco

Estimated net worth: $2 billion

Source: Investments

play

King Mohammed VI, Morocco

 (Forbes)

The wealthiest monarch in Africa is His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco. King Mohammed VI, the 27 king of the Alaouite dynasty, ascended the throne in July 1999 and immediately set out to initiate a series of socio-political and economic reforms that have made the Kingdom freer and more prosperous than during the reign of his father, King Hassan II. He derives his fortune from his control of Société Nationale d'Investissement (SNI), a large Moroccan investment holding company with assets valued at more than $10 billion. The King also owns a substantial chunk of the world’s phosphate reserves.

2. Oba Obateru Akinrutan, Ugbo Land, Nigeria

Estimated net worth: $300  million

Source: Oil

play

Oba Obateru Akinrutan, Olugbo of Ugboland

 (Zambian Observer)

Oba Obateru Akinrutan is the Olugbo (traditional King) of Ugbo land, a small oil-rich community in Ondo state, in Nigeria’s southwestern region. Oba Akinrutan ascended the throne in 2009 and founded Obat Oil in 1981 with a single gas station to meet the needs of his family and neighbouring community. Now, Obat Oil is one of Nigeria’s largest privately-held oil trading companies and owns more than 50 gas stations across Nigeria as well as one of the largest tank farms in Africa. He also owns an extensive portfolio of prime commercial and residential real estate in London and Nigeria, including the landmark Febson Hotels and Mall in the Central Business District of Abuja.

3. Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Estimated net worth: At least $75 million

Source: Construction, Property, Oil

play

Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Ooni of Ile Ife

 (National Infinity Magazine)

Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II, is the traditional King (Ọọ̀ni) of Ile-Ife’, an ancient city located in Osun state which is generally believed to be the traditional home of the Yoruba civilization. Oba Sijuwade, 84, who ascended the throne in 1980, struck out on his own in 1964, when he started WAATECO, an automotive distribution business that imported vehicles and vehicle parts from the Soviet Union to sell in Nigeria. He went on to build the Motel Royal hotel and several residential and commercial properties. He is the founder of the Sijuwade Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with interests in oil & gas, construction, property development and hospitality, which he incorporated in 1975. The group was awarded a concession by the Federal Government to construct and manage a tollgate along the Ibadan-Ife dual carriageway- one of the major vehicular routes in Nigeria. The King also owns several residential properties in Nigeria and the U.K.

4. King Mswati III, Swaziland

Estimated net worth: At least $50 million

Source: Investments

play

King Mswati, 46, is Africa’s last absolute monarch. His personal net worth is at least $50 million, based on the annual $50 million salary that he is paid out of government coffers. He also controls Tibiyo TakaNgwane, an investment holding company that has assets worth over $140 million, but he holds it in trust for the people of Swaziland.

Mswati renamed Swaziland to the Kingdom of eSwatini. He is more well known for his relationships with women (he had at least 15 wives at the last count), and for his flamboyant parties. His last birthday coincided with the Christian Easter holidays but he wasn't willing to share the spotlight with Jesus. He postponed his birthday celebrations for five days so that a proper national holiday could be held in his honor. Famous american R&B artist Erykah Baduperformed for the King during the expensive celebrations, even though the poverty rate in Swaziland is escalating. More than 65% of the Swaziland’s population gets by on less than $1.25 a day, while unemployment rates are as high as 40% — but the King remains unaffected.

5. Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Ashanti, Ghana

Estimated net worth: $10 million

Source: Mining Equipment, Property, Jewelry

play

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II,, King of Ashanti

 (Ghana Celebrities)

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is the King of Ghana's gold-rich Ashanti kingdom, home to the country’s largest ethnic group, the Asantes. He ascended the throne in 1999 and serves as the political and spiritual head of the Asante people. Osei Tutu set up Transpomech Ghana in 1989, a $12 million (sales) company that provides mining equipment to several large industrial companies in Ghana. The King also owns extensive real estate in Ghana and South Africa as well as a collection of valuable gold crown jewels.

Iris Apfel and Her Husband Carl's wonderful and Adorable Love Story

At 96 years old, style icon Iris Apfel is a self-described “geriatric starlet” with a flair for fashion, design, and combining what’s cheap with what’s chic. Apfel’s creative endeavors have ranged from her career as a textile designer to working as an interior designer for the White House, and producing of her own jewelry and clothing lines.

Apfel was an under-the-radar style force until the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York dedicated a show at the Costume Institute to Apfel's collection of clothing and jewelry in 2005.

As inspiring as Apfel's personal style is her decades-long love story with her husband Carl. The couple spent almost 70 years together, during which time they created their own textile company, starred in a documentary together, and maintained a romance that only seemed to grow stronger over the years.

Here's how their life together unfolded:

Iris is Born, 1921 

Netflix/ Iris

Iris Barre was born in Astoria, Queens, New York on August 29, 1921. She was an only child and was raised on a farm by her parents and grandparents, according to The Guardian. Even as a kid, Iris had a passion for style. “At that time you could ride the whole subway system for a nickel, so each week I would take a different section of New York—Chinatown, Yorkville, Harlem, Greenwich Village. And I really fell in love with the Village,” Iris told The Guardian.

Apfel went on to amass a collection of hundreds of unique pieces from around the world—and she started that process early. “The first piece I ever bought was in Greenwich Village,” Apfel recounted in her 2015 documentary Iris, which is available on Netflix. “I was about maybe 11, 12 years old. There was a little shop in a basement of one of those old-fashioned kind of tenement houses that had the fire escapes outside, and I’ll never forget that place because I thought it was Aladdin’s cave. There was this little man. His name was Mr. Darris, and he was threadbare but elegant. He always wore spats and a monocle...and I always tell everybody he treated me like a mini duchess." 

Getty

"I came in and he’d never seen a kid be so interested in all this junk before. I fixed on a brooch. I just thought it was the cat’s pajamas," she said. "And I really lusted after that piece. We haggled a little bit over the piece. I thought it had been gone, but fortunately for me it was still there. Anyway, I bought it for the magnificent sum of 65 cents. He gave it to me. I was so thrilled, my God.”

Apfel eventually went on to study art history at New York University and attended art school at the University of Wisconsin. She later used her knowledge of fashion and bold sense of design in her work as a copy editor at Women’s Wear Daily. 

Iris and Carl Meet in New York, 1947


Iris met Carl Apfel while staying at a resort on Lake George in upstate New York, according to an interview with The Guardian. “Our first date was Columbus Day,” Apfel said. “Thanksgiving, Carl proposed. Christmas I got blinged. Washington’s birthday, we were married.”

Carl and Iris were immediately attracted to one another, and their droll senses of humor are on display in Iris. “There was something about her that just got into me,” Carl says in the documentary. “It’s always there.” Sitting beside him on the couch, Iris gives him a pat on the hand and says, “Awe, my little pussycat … And I figured he was cool and he was was cuddly, and he cooked Chinese, so I couldn’t do any better.” 

The Couple Marry, 1948 

Getty

By February 22, 1948, Iris and Carl were married. “I never wanted a wedding; I wanted to elope,” Apfel admitted in her documentary, as she flipped through an album of old wedding photos, lingering on a picture of her and Carl dancing. “I said I’d rather have the money, but the parents and the grandparents wanted the wedding … It was a fairly small wedding—I think 125 people—but very posh.”

While Iris didn’t get to elope as planned, she did manage to strike a bargain on the wedding dress of her dreams.“The dress was pink lace, and I’m really very practical, so I wanted a dress that I could wear after the wedding and not just put in a box,” Iris explained. “I still have these shoes 66 and a half years later,” she added. “They were pale pink satin. They’re back in style. If you hang around long enough, everything comes back.” 

Together They Found Old World Weavers, 1950 

After two years of marriage, Iris and Carl cofounded Old World Weavers textile company, which specialized in restoring furnishings for homes. "We never intended to go into the fabric business," she said. "Nothing I ever did I intended to do. Everything just kind of happened."

Iris, who had completed an internship with interior designer Elinor Johnson in the past, had a knack for sourcing the materials and fabrics necessary to restore antique pieces. “She had a very big decorating business,” Carl said in Iris. “I would go along with her. I’d take my little toolbox, hang the pictures. And I got a kick out of watching her make something beautiful.” 

Business Booms, 1950 to 1992 

As part of their work, the couple worked on projects for the White House under multiple presidencies, including, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Clinton, according to Quartz. But the White House wasn’t the only place Iris and Carl traveled together.

“We did exact reproductions of 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th century fabrics, and I would do my best to get them to be as close as possible to the original," Iris said. That’s why we traveled so much, because there is no one or two mills that can do everything. It’s all very specialized.” Together, the couple went on trips to places like Turkey, Morocco, and Lebanon twice a year, collecting everything from haute couture pieces to knick knacks that cost a few cents. Iris combined all of these pieces to create one-of-a-kind designs that her clients adored. “I was a busy bee,” Iris said.
Some of Iris' style collection and interior design skills can be seen showcased in this video by One King's Lane.


Carl, who accompanied Iris on every trip and helped pick out pieces they could work with, recalled Iris's passion shopping. “When you get to know some of the dealers like we did, they’d open up some of the places for us like you’ve never seen before,” Carl said. “They’d open at a certain hour and they’d close at a certain hour. Who do you think was the last one? Iris.”

Iris and Carl decided not to have children, in part because they traveled so often—and in part because Iris was as dedicated to the unconventional in her domestic life as she was in her personal style. “I don’t believe in a child having a nanny, so it wasn’t what we were going to do, but also having children is like protocol,” Iris told the Guardian. “You’re expected to. And I don’t like to be pigeonholed.” 

Iris's Personal Collection Goes on Display, 2005 

Getty

At 83-years-old, Iris was well into her retirement from the interior design industry when Harold Koda, the curator of the Met's Costume Institute, contacted her in hopes of showcasing her unique fashion sense in an exhibit. The museum's previously-scheduled show had cancelled unexpectedly and Koda and his team were left scrambling to put on a show with a compelling story that was easy to set up before opening day.

Apfel agreed. In Rara Avis: Selections from the Iris Apfel Collection, the museum highlighted everything from her iconic oversized tortoise shell glasses to her whimsical patterned coats and colorful, chunky costume jewelry. “Iris is an artist. What she uses all her clothing and accessories to do is compose a new vision,” said Koda in Iris. “That, for me, is creativity.” 

Getty

“You never know what’s going to happen with this child—surprise, surprise,” Carl said of his wife. “It’s not a dull marriage, I can tell you that.” Iris lavished her sensibility on her husband too. She used to pick out unique pieces for Carl, even into his 90s. From paisley orange pants that match the lining of her own jacket to a red baseball cap with spiked gold studs across the front and the same classic tortoise shell glasses she is so well known for, Iris made sure Carl’s wardrobe was never boring either.
Carl Passes Away, 2015 

Netflix/ Iris

Carl was 100 years old when he and Iris allowed the film crew to document their life for Iris. “I want to do more things in this life with my child bride, and if the Lord let’s me do it, I’ll sure enjoy it,” Carl had said. He passed away that same year, just three days before his 101st birthday, on August 1, 2015.

Just as Iris had her own exception style and sense of fashion, Carl wore a ring he never went without, according to the New York Times. The large Egyptian ring was inscribed with the phrase “Where Is the House of Thy Father?” Iris convinced an antiquarian to sell her the ring off of his own finger in Dublin during the 1950s, and Carl never took it off, likely because it was stuck. Two days before he died, the ring fell off. 

Getty

Despite having lost her husband two years ago, Iris’ love for fashion is undimmed. “I always like to do things as if I’m playing jazz; try this, try that,” Iris said. “With me, it’s not intellectual. It’s all gut … It’s totally, totally the involvement and the process. It’s the process I like much better even than wearing it … People interview me and they keep asking if I have any rules. And I say, I don’t have any rules because I would only be breaking them, so it’s a waste of time.”



From: Town & Country US

Watch HBO's Documentary Of Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. (VIDEO)

The first look at Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds' HBO documentary, Bright Lights, has been released. The trailer offers a glimpse of the late mother-daughter duo's intricate relationship, acting careers and everyday lives. "This documentary is a portrait of Hollywood royalty in all its eccentricity," a summary reads.






From hints in the preview, the doc was filmed while Fisher was working on The Force Awakens (or, as she calls it in the clip, "Star Wars 72") and her mother, 83 at the time, was amidst performances in Las Vegas.

HBO


The trailer highlights some adorable moments between the two late stars, like Fisher teasing her mom for having an outdated cellphone, Reynolds telling her daughter to "just do what your mother says, it makes life easier" and the pair sifting through their wardrobe together. "I share everything with my daughter—especially the check," Reynolds quips.

HBO

But the doc also delves deeper into more personal issues, like struggling with aging and mental illness. "My mother, she'll forget she's not 35. Age is horrible for all of us, but she falls from a greater height," Fisher says.

"Manic depression is a disease. That was not diagnosed then," Reynolds explains of how her daughter struggled with mental health at a young age. "So nobody kind of knew what was going on with Carrie."

HBO

Fisher passed away on December 27 at the age of 60, and Reynolds followed at the age of 84 on December 28. Hours before her death, Reynolds reportedly said, "I want to be with Carrie." Both late actresses will be buried together in a private ceremony this Friday, January 6.

Bright Lights: Starring Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher premieres on January 7 at 8 p.m. on HBO. Watch the trailer here.

Unveiling What's Inside Caitlyn Jenner’s Memoir, ‘The Secrets of My Life’

Caitlyn Jenner revealed her upcoming memoir will be titled “The Secrets of My Life” and will be available on April 25, 2017.

The I Am Cait star, who revealed back in January 2016 that she was writing a memoir, announced her book’s official release date and title on Monday (Nov. 28, 2016). The memoir, which will be written in collaboration with Buzz Bissinger, will share her journey toward womanhood.

It will cover Jenner’s childhood, her career as an Olympic star, as well as details from her three marriages — including to Kris. It will also focus on her relationships with her children before she transitioned into the world’s most famous transgender woman.

Meanwhile, Kendall revealed on her app that her father would make her and her sister Kylie “go to bed hungry” if they didn’t follow the rules.

“Growing up, my dad was way more strict than my mom,” she wrote. “He was always reminding Kylie and me about school and homework — but we never really got in trouble for that. The one thing he would get mad at us for was not eating our food.”

“He would tell us that if we didn’t finish, we would have to go to bed hungry, but we would still try to sneak dessert anyway, lol,” the supermodel added.

11 Shocking Things About Naya Rivera From Her Memoir

Naya Rivera didn't just wake up one morning to find her life filled with, well, glee. Like most, it took plenty of ups, way more downs, heartbreak and a whole lot of OMG moments.

Now, in her new memoir, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up,, the Glee actress opens up about all aspects of her personal life. The 29-year-old, who has a son Josey, nearly 12 months, with husband Ryan Dorsey, candidly discusses her time on the Fox hit. She dishes on Lea Michele andMark Salling, among others, as well as her decision to get an abortion, her struggle with anorexia and much more.

Here, IPRESSTV rounds up 11 shocking revelations from the bombshell book, out now.

Naya Rivera and Lea Michele in the 'Dance With Somebody' episode of 'Glee.' Adam Rose/FOX

1. She had a playdate at Michael Jackson’s Neverland

Thanks to her child-acting gigs, Rivera became pals with Michael Jackson’s niece — and scored an invite to her birthday party at his famous Neverland Ranch. But parents were not allowed. “The girl’s mom assured us that there were chaperones and that Michael was not one of them,” she writes. Also at the bash: Nicole Richie, who she sat next to on the bus ride over. “I got sleepy and laid down and took a nap on Nicole’s lap,” Rivera recalls. “When I woke up, I saw that I’d drooled all over her leg.”

2. Tahj Mowry was her first boyfriend-ish

Though Rivera calls Tahj Mowry her “almost boyfriend,” she still experienced plenty of firsts with Tia and Tamera’s younger brother. For starters, he was her first kiss. (Of course, it went down at the movie theater with their moms sitting in front of them!) Another: She walked her very first red carpet with him at the NAACP Image Awards. Dressed in all white, “that also happened to be the day I got my period for the first time,” she reveals. The pair's romance continued on through their teens until Mowry ended it for good. “He thought he needed to date someone more on his financial level,” writes Rivera. “Dick. We’re still friends.”

3. She struggled with anorexia 

“One day I just decided to see how long I could go without eating,” Rivera recalls. Soon, the game went too far. She began avoiding food and secretly jogged in place to burn off the few calories she consumed. By sophomore year of high school, she couldn’t even force herself to eat an apple. At her worst, the 5-foot-4 actress weighed just 98 pounds. But when she made new friends toward the end of that year, girls who “had no desire to be skin and bones,” Rivera writes. “I gained 15 pounds and never looked back. 

4. She passed on her high school's glee club

Joining the choir would’ve made sense, but it wasn’t a fit for this aspiring singer. For a blink-and-you-might-miss-it moment her freshman year, Rivera was a member of the club, but “all the good solos and parts kept going to my arch nemesis Nazanin Mandi,” Rivera writes. ”Because I was totally insane at the time (and, let’s be honest, probably really hungry), I decided it was a good idea to challenge her to a sing-off.” That competition never went down and Rivera adds, “I had enough of playing second soprano and quit.”

Ryan Dorsey and Naya Rivera arrive at the 2015 March of Dimes Celebration of Babies at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on Dec. 4, 2015, in Beverly Hills. Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

5. Fox’s glee club members became her second family

After 20-hour rehearsals, the cast would retreat back to someone’s trailer to play truth or dare and spin the bottle. During the show’s second season, Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz shared a pad, which became the go-to spot. "When Chord Overstreet joined the show, we brought him to this sex den of a house and initiated him by making him play spin the bottle — while wearing a onesie," she writes. "The Love Nest was also where we got one of our castmates high for the first time, or at least tried to. We fed him a whole bag of weed gummy bears on New Year's Eve, and he still didn't feel a thing."

They were at their wildest while on the road together for the Glee tour. On McHale's birthday, "We all gathered in his room to celebrate," she writes. "Heather [Morris] did a dance in her panties, and I'm pretty sure Cory[Monteith] had a hard-on the entire time."

6. Cory Monteith drank in front of her

Rivera admits she and her late costar, Cory Monteith, had a siblinglike relationship, "which is rare in a cast that had the sex drive of bunnies and the bed-hopping skills of a polygamist cult." And Monteith, who died from a drug overdose in July 2013, was open about his past struggles with addiction. To her knowledge, he was sober up through season 3. Then, the gang went out to dinner to celebrate filming their last episode. "When he decided to order a cocktail, it was the first time we had ever seen him drink," she writes. "He explained that he wanted to be able to drink in moderation, that he could do it and be just like everybody else. He seemed calm and confident about it, so we all just accepted it. To be honest, I don't think many of us really understood how addiction worked." 

7. Lea Michele had a jealousy issue

Sure, in the beginning, the gals were pals. But as the show became a pop culture phenomenon, their friendship hit a snag, especially when Rivera's Santana earned more screen time and pushed Michele's Rachel to the sidelines. “I think Rachel — erm, I mean Lea — didn’t like sharing the spotlight," she reveals. "On top of that, she had a hard time separating work from our outside friendship.”

On set, Michele wasn't one to take criticism well, Rivera reveals: “It seemed like she blamed me for anything and everything that went wrong. If I’d complained about anyone or anything, she assumed I was bitching about her. Soon she started to ignore me, and eventually it got to the point where she didn’t say a word to me for all of season six.”

8. Michele also put a strain on her relationship with Monteith

Rivera was shocked when Monteith and Michele started dating in 2011. "The more serious they got, the less Cory hung out with us and the more he seemed like a different person," she reveals. "One year he came back from the break between seasons super skinny. He said he'd been spending a lot of time at the gym and was trying to be responsible — not spending money all the time and buying crazy cars like he used to." But fitness guru Michele had positive impact on Monteith too. "My personal feelings for Lea aside, I knew that she wasn’t a partier, so I felt like maybe their relationship could actually be good for him," continues Rivera. "I was happy for Cory to have a stable influence in his life, wherever it was he found it.”

Naya Rivera's 'Sorry Not Sorry'

9. Mark Salling tried to hide their romance

Per Salling's publicist, "it would be better for his image if he pretended to not have a girlfriend," writes Rivera, who dated her costar on and off for three years. (While high on Ecstasy, he said "I love you" just four weeks into the relationship.) Though she said it was OK, "I had a feeling his pretending to be single had … more to do with his dick," Rivera admits. 

While he was out of town, Rivera learned Salling — who on June 3 pleaded pleaded not guilty to two counts' receiving and possessing child pornography, according to the Associated Press — had cheated on her. She and a pal picked up dog food, Coca-Cola, eggs and birdseed then poured it all over his car. And, admits Rivera,"that's how I got my first media scandal."

10. She regrets calling ex-boyfriend Big Sean out on Twitter

Six months after meeting in April 2013, the pair were already engaged. And, the rapper became standoffish. "We'd been fighting for five straight days while he was traveling, and then on the one day that he was back in L.A., he said he didn't want to see me. 'Well, a--hole, I've got a key to your house,'" Rivera writes. "I walk in, go downstairs, and guess what little girl is sitting cross-legged on the couch listening to music? … It rhymes with "Smariana Schmande." (That same “little girl” went on to date the rapper for eight months.) 

It wasn't a pop star that broke them up for good, but rather a Rolex. On their third date, the rapper gave her his watch to wear every day. Then, without warning, he took it out of her drawer. Naturally, she accused him of stealing. “In my weakest moments OF ALL TIME, I tweeted about it," she reveals. "And, alas, between our millions of combined followers, such a tweet did not go unnoticed — even when I realized what I had done and deleted it as fast as I could. That tweet shall henceforth be known as ‘The One Time I Showed My Ass on Twitter.’”

Big Sean's response wasn't the most mature either: His publicist released a statement saying he decided to call off the wedding. “So I learned that I was no longer getting married from THE INTERNET, and at the same time as the rest of the world," continues Rivera. "Not only were we no longer getting married, but apparently we weren’t even together anymore.”

11. She had an abortion — then went back to the Glee set

Weeks after breaking up with now-husband Ryan Dorsey, Rivera took a pregnancy test. At this point in her life, this was common practice: She often took them just to be sure. This time, however, it came back positive. She was already four weeks along.

Rivera and her mom drove to Planned Parenthood in Pasadena, California, where they figured they were far enough away from everyone they knew. Being extra cautious, they also wore wigs, hoodies and sunglasses. Admits Rivera, "We paid cash, leaving no paper trail, like it was a drug deal."

She was given an "abortion pill." "It was the worst experience of my life," she writes. “It was incredibly painful — your body is basically in labor with strong, frequent contractions. I was nauseous and kept going in and out of consciousness because of the pain.” She continued to bleed for two and half weeks, but the show had to go on. "When I got up to work the next day, a little more than 12 hours after having a medical abortion, I had to put my cheerleading uniform back on," reveals Rivera, "and hope that the skimpy bloomers covered the giant pad I was wearing.”

In the aftermath, she became addicted to MTV's Teen Mom. “I was so jealous that they got to keep their kids," writes Rivera, who eventually told Dorsey years later and only after he signed a confidentiality agreement. (They wed in July 2014.) "Watching it over and over was a way of punishing myself. ‘What’s wrong with you?’ I’d ask myself."

The traumatic experience remains with her today. “I don’t think I ever emotionally healed from the abortion, which is why it is so mind-blowing that some people think having an abortion is the carefree girl’s No. 1 choice to keep on partying," Rivera reveals. "In reality, it is anything but an easy choice. In some ways, I think choosing to have an abortion is almost harder than choosing to have your child, because you make that choice knowing, or at least suspecting, that many moments of your life will no be tinged with regret."

Pick up a copy of Rivera's new book, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up, on shelves now.