Everything We Know So Far About Mercy Aigbe’s Controversial 40th Birthday Dress

Mercy Aigbe’s 40th birthday was surrounded by a few controversies, from arguments that she is not really 40 to the red dress saga. 


 The actress,  who celebrated her birthday on January 1, was greeted with the controversy of stealing a bride’s wedding reception dress for birthday photo shoot.

The original owner of the dress,  a bride,  had called out the actress who later voiced out that she contracted a stylist to style her for the photo shoot and as such knows nothing about the original owner of the dress.

Here is a full photo of the dress:



The bride also called out the designer,  Maryam Elisha of RikatoByMe,  for giving out her wedding reception dress to actress Mercy for her 40th birthday photo shoot while the designer blamed the mix up on dispatch error.

 According to the lady who claimed to be the real owner of the red dress, she had given her material to the tailor, Maryam Elisha, aka rikaotobyme to make a reception dress for her wedding but the tailor had informed her that there was a mix up in delivery and the bride to be would have to wear another dress.

 The lady said she had no choice but to wear the other dress provided by the tailor for her wedding but to her shock, she had come come online and saw her dress (the same material and style) on Instagram after Mercy Aigbe had posted pictures of herself in it.

She took to her social media handle to share:

This was too bad. On the 29th of December 2017 which happens to be a day to my wedding, a greedy designer decided to ruin my big day. I cried all day no stop. I bought this lovely fabric from @bshani_bridalfbrics and asked her to deliver to this designer @rikaotobyme after I had concluded the style and price with @rikaotobyme I made a 50% payment to her as soon the fabric got to her. Told her its my wedding reception dress she assured me it will be ready on 26th. on that 26th i chatted her up to ask for my dress she replied saying it was ready as u can see on the chat above, she also said she will send a pics, eventually now sent a video d next day which was 27th u can also see that on the chat above. I sent the balance 50% to her on 28th when I had seen the dress and was satisfied, she couldn't send that day cos all flights coming to Benin that day were cancelled. So we were now left with 29th a day to my wedding, I called her by 6am that morning and she told me d delivery Guy has gone to d park to send my dress that she will send the waybill details(sending details ) across shortly. I waited till 9am no words from her. i started calling to ask for the waybill details she wasn't taking my calls, atimes she even cut the calls. I sent several messages no response at 1pm I started crying cos the situation got beyond my control. My hubby,friends and family requested for the number and also started calling her but she obviously decided not to take any calls again. Until 4pm when I was drained in tears she then called and was apologising that she didn't know what to say to me that y she refuse taking calls, she continued saying the delivery guy she gave my dress to is no where to be found. when she heard how I was crying she then suggested to give me one of her old dresses for me to use for the day, I had no choice cos I was desperate I then accepted it.i got d dress on my wedding morning. I went on IG yesterdy only to see @realmercyaigbe wearing my dress with the same fabric I bought and she tagged same designer @rikaotobyme.how much did she pay u to disappoint a bride on her wedding day? U are heartlessly wicked and u will sure not get away with this @rikaotobyme

A post shared by MRS LAWRENTTA SAWYER (@rettypety) on Jan 1, 2018 at 12:48am PST

The tailor initially didn’t respond but the angry bride meant business and was ready to drag it all out.

 She shared a conversation between them:

Reading your reply @rikaotobyme to the pain and embarrassment you deliberately caused my me for financial profit on the eve of and on my wedding day, I am convinced that you are indeed wicked. A wickedness that has consequences. Firstly, in your response you claim there was a dispatch error. Was the error of dispatch the cause of the delivery agent's number being "not reachable" as you claimed? Secondly, you also claimed the "dispatch error" was too late to be rectified as the wrong dress was already on the way to Edo state. At what point was the "dispatch error" discovered since your staff Kate, dropped off the dress at Ojota at around 9pm for nightbus delivery? Thirdly you claimed also that similarities in the dresses caused the "mixup". If that was the case why did @realmercyaigbe on receipt of a dress that wasn't hers still go ahead to wear it for her 40th birthday shoot and post on social media on the 31st of December ? Mind you, the dress you sent to me was torn and musty on delivery, not in any shape for a client how much more a celebrity. While that which conveniently landed with Mercy Aigbe, was a fabric i purchased myself from @bshani_bridalfabrics. Lastly in your response, you lied about apologizing to me. Since the 29th i have not heard a single word from you and there is not a chance in hell that what you called an apology on "public fora" or the chat above would suffice. In all of this, it's blatantly obvious from your statement you have refused to accept responsibility like a true professional should and sincerely apologize for your moment of indiscretion and weakness. Until then I am personally committed you face the full consequences of your actions and the pains you meted on me.

A post shared by MRS LAWRENTTA SAWYER (@rettypety) on Jan 2, 2018 at 12:04pm PST

Nigerians took it upon themselves to weigh in on the alleged fraudulent act of the said fashion designer who disappointed a bride on her wedding day to please a celebrity wanting to turn up the heat of her beauty on her 40th birthday.

 The tailor took to her Instagram handle to tender an apology to both the actress and the bride taking responsibility for the mix up.

Here’s her apology to them both:

Dear Lawrentta @rettypety, I apologise once again for the pain and inconvenience you have suffered these past days and I will continue to do so untill we talk I have tried severally to reach you privately all in vain that's why I'm back on IG again for on this, I would appreciate if you would open a means of communication so we can resolve the matter Thank you, Maryam Elisha.

A post shared by Maryam Elisha (@rikaotobyme) on Jan 6, 2018 at 2:10am PST

Dear Mercy Aigbe @realmercyaigbe, I am sorry I haven't been in touch since the the dress incident. I was actually out of town with limited internet access. I know I owe you an apology and actually I would like to do it in person and explain so we can resolve the issue. Neither you nor the bride deserved what happened. This is not my proudest moment ever. I feel so terrible for what this has caused you as well, especially seeing the comments and knowing that majority believe you were at fault here, which isn't the case. This is so sad. Once again, please accept my apology. I will continue to apologise to you and my other client, the bride. I hope we can sit and talk about it. Thank you, Maryam Elisha

A post shared by Maryam Elisha (@rikaotobyme) on Jan 6, 2018 at 1:15am PST

Following an apology by the designer and a statement by Mercy Aigbe’s stylist, StyledBySeun, absolving her of any fault, the actress has opened up on the case, saying that it was all the designer’s fault.

She made this known when she was a guest on TVC‘s Entertainment Splash on Tuesday.

Speaking on the issue, Mercy Aigbe sympathised with the bride, adding that no one should go through what she (the bride) went through.

 She noted that her lawyers are on the case, saying: “The designer put me in a very embarassing situation and my lawyers are on it.”

She continued: I’m so disappointed in her cos she did not handle the situation professionally. It’s all her fault and she needs to come out and clear the air and look for a way to compensate the bride and she also has to compensate me because I’m her client.

The actress  lamented the fact that people began criticising her without hearing from her, saying she had no contact with the designer and all transactions were made by her stylist.

Here’s the video: