Onyekachi Ucheagwu is a 32-year-old serial entrepreneur from Imo State who came into the Ultimate Love reality TV show, more to find love than to win the money.

ONYEKACHI UCHEAGWU: Finding Love On Screen

But the odds were on his side as he left Aunty’s Love Pad with both a grand prize and a partner, Rosie.

With his deep love for his culture and tradition, Kachi, as he is fondly called in the house, found a woman that complements all that in the person of Rosie and in their 8 weeks together in Aunty Love Pad, they uncovered things about themselves and unlearned things together.

ONYEKACHI UCHEAGWU: Finding Love On Screen

What motivated you to come to a reality TV show in search of love?
As cliche as it sounds, I was motivated by the idea of finding true love. I entered the Love Pad with an open heart as an individual to find genuine and unconditional love. Someone I could spend the rest of my life with.

As an Igbo man who is highly cultural, did Ultimate love provide the right environment or you had to align yourself to its culture?
My culture does not have anything to do with where I choose to find love. The Igbo nation is liberal and consider everyone irrespective of your tribe as one. As such, I will forever remain grateful to MultiChoice for giving me the platform to find the woman of my dream

What attracted you to Rosie in the house? Would you say she was your ideal kind of partner before the show?

She was and still is (Laughs). I knew Rosie was the one from the onset of the show. During our first speed date in the Love Pad, I just knew that she was exactly what I was looking for and then, she shared a secret she had never discussed with anyone and that really built my trust for her because it was obvious she was willing to let go and trust me.

How did your experience in your previous relationships help your relationship with your partner in Aunty’s Love Pad?
Before the show, I’d had to deal with a lot of disappointment and heartbreaks in my relationships. So, I was also very careful from the start not to make another mistake. I’m grateful to God that things worked out with Rosie. I’m at peace knowing that this one is really and truly mine.

Before Rosie, what was your thought on dating older women and how has that thought evolved since your relationship in the house?
Dating older women has never been my thing. But after the first week of bonding in the Love Pad, coupled with intelligent conversations we had, and different lectures we had, the whole narrative and my perspective changed. I got to realize that age is nothing but numbers. There and then, I made up my mind not to sacrifice my happiness at the altar of “age”. I love Rosie so much, that’s what matters.

On entering the house, what was a strategy you had to win the game and were you ever able to use it?
So, entering the house, I was more about finding love than getting a strategy to even win. So, I didn’t really have any particular strategy and to be honest, winning the show came to me as a surprise. I wasn’t expecting it. But I’m grateful to God for making it possible.

How did you feel being in a house with so many couples? Did that environment help or affect your relationship negatively?
Hmmm… I don’t think it had any adverse effect on our relationship. The opposite was actually the case because while we were focused on working on our relationship, we were also surrounded by other couples who were navigating theirs. So and such an environment helped us learn from one another.

Describe a memorable time you had in the house with Rosie and why is it special?
wow… they are innumerable. Starting from the games we both played together in the house, to various interesting conversations around spending eternity and building a family together. Also, when I made an Italian meal (Italian Puttanesca). The interesting thing about it was she finished the meal and asked for more, and I was so happy.

Having a public relationship on a reality TV show like Ultimate Love, what were some of the fears you had and how did you navigate your emotions and thoughts to alleviate those fears?
Fear? I don’t think I had any and that’s because I knew what I was going in for. So that helped me navigate the challenges that came with falling in love and navigating a new relationship in front of the cameras.

Going into the house, was the end game to win no matter what or find love even without the prize and how do you feel having both?
For me, the end game was to find true love, not winning. I feel very grateful to God for making all this happen.

If you have to do something all over again in the house, what’s that one thing you’ll do differently?
Not a thing. I believe everything happened for a reason, and all my actions in the Love Pad led me to Rosie.

Coming out of the house, what was your first reaction to the new reality of COVID-19?
It was crazy! But the good thing though was that, the organisers of the show had briefed us on what to expect, and they also took great measures to ensure we were safe upon our exit from the Love Pad.