Nigerian chef Damilola Adeparusi, widely known as Chef Dammy, has shared a heartfelt account of the struggles she faced after her rise to fame during her 2023 cook-a-thon attempt.
In a recent interview snippet with Instablog9ja, shared via Instagram on Thursday, Chef Dammy revealed that while the cook-a-thon brought her massive attention, it also came with a heavy price—cyberbullying, assault, and emotional breakdowns.
Reflecting on her journey, the young chef explained that she never anticipated her cooking marathon would gain such widespread attention.
“My interest in cooking started when I began living alone as a student. Even the cookathon, I didn’t know it was going to be viral. I didn’t even tell my parents about it; they just saw me. I was shocked to see myself on social media.”
Chef Dammy admitted that the experience left her deeply shaken at the time. She noted that while she can now speak openly about it, the events had once left her in tears.
“If you had asked me this question two years ago or a year ago, I might be crying. But now I’m happy I can talk about this without crying.”
Opening up further, she described how overwhelming the situation became, revealing that she prayed for relief from the emotional toll.
“There was a time in my life I was even telling God, ‘Can this wait a bit? Can I at least forget some things?’ I felt overwhelmed. The cyberbullying was just a little compared to what I experienced in real life. I was bullied, I was assaulted. I was broken. Social media broke me.”
Despite the challenges, Chef Dammy’s resilience shines through as she continues to embrace her passion for cooking while overcoming the dark side of sudden fame. Her story highlights the harsh realities of cyberbullying, online pressure, and emotional trauma faced by young talents in the digital age.
