Nigerian chef Damilola Adeparusi, popularly known as Chef Dammy, has revealed that she suffered bullying, assault, and emotional struggles after her 2023 cook-a-thon attempt thrust her into the spotlight.

Speaking in an interview on Thursday, Dammy explained that she never expected her cooking marathon to gain widespread attention.

“My interest in cooking started when I began living alone as a student. Even the cook-a-thon, I didn’t know it was going to be viral. I didn’t even tell my parents about it; they just saw me online,” she said.

Dammy admitted that the sudden fame came with challenges she was not prepared for. She recounted how cyberbullying and personal attacks left her feeling overwhelmed and broken.

“If you had asked me this question two years ago or a year ago, I might have been crying. But now I’m happy I can talk about this without crying. There was a time I told 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 faced in real life. I was bullied, I was assaulted. I was broken. Social media broke me,” she revealed.

Despite the pain, Chef Dammy said she is learning to heal and move forward, determined to focus on her passion for cooking and her personal growth.