A glance at Zari Hassan’s rocky love life

When the celebrated Ugandan socialite Zari Hassan went on Instagram live last month to hit out at her husband Shakib Lutaaya, fans were in shock.

It all escalated after Zari and her ex, Tanzanian superstar Diamond Platnumz came together to celebrate their daughter’s 9th birthday. Diamond’s surprise appearance reportedly caused trouble between the couple, with Shakib expressing discomfort with the situation; and Zari calling him insecure.

Shakib Lutaaya

Taking to the social media app, the self-proclaimed boss lady had some choice words for her beau, and the documented rant was sure to make headlines across Africa.

“He was mad, questioning why I didn’t tell him Diamond was coming. He even suggested that I might still be in love with the father of my children,” a seemingly upset Zari said.

“I think one thing my husband doesn’t understand is that I am so over my ex. I chose my husband. There’s a lot of other people out there who want to be with me, and when I say a lot, these are people that you guys don’t know, but I chose my husband.”

Weeks later, the pair appeared to be back on track, with Zari issuing a public apology.

“As a normal person, you sometimes reach a breaking point. Things happen; Allah created us that way. We all make mistakes,” Zari said in an interview.

“But upon reflection, you can see your wrongs. Truly, I made a mistake. I was so frustrated that I ended up venting on social media. I broke down on the wrong platform.” 

They may be married now, but at one point, Shakib was just a fan, so smitten and in awe that he followed Zari around in the streets of South Africa- and that is how they met.

“When I followed her for long, she was scared, walked straight to the security mall and came out, walked straight to the security guy but she saw I wasn’t a threat. I reached her and told her I was a Ugandan, a fan and followed just to say hi,” Shakib said on a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.

He added that they later met again at a party, and he had to make his move.

“At the time, Zari wasn’t with anybody. I was trying to get her attention through eye contact but then I didn’t get it. She suddenly looked at me and made eye contact. I focused on looking at her because she was really a goddess.”

Although Zari’s security team tried to stop Shakib from approaching her at an after party that followed, she allowed it, and the rest is history.

Before there was Zari’s younger hubby Shakib, there were several personalities who had managed to capture Zari’s heart.

Diamond Platnumz

Zari has always had her own solid fanbase, but she ultimately captured the hearts of Tanzanian fans when she got involved with, arguably the country’s biggest star, Diamond Platnumz.

Diamond and Zari’s love story was one for the books. They appeared to be a match made in heaven, and from their union came two adorable children.

The couple were together between 2008 and 2014, but during that time, it wasn’t all roses. Their otherwise enviable coupling was tainted by accusations of infidelity, which would be eventually cause their split.

Taking to her Instagram account, Zari posted the image of a rose in black and white, accompanied by a lengthy caption.

She wrote: “Understand that this is very difficult for me to do. There have been multiple rumors some with evidence floating around in all sorts of media in regards to Diamond’s constant cheating and sadly I have decided to end my relationship with Diamond, as my respect, integrity, dignity and well-being cannot be compromised. We are separating as partners but not as parents.” 

The socialite later reflected on the split in a 2018 interview with BBC Swahili, noting that although the pair tried to work things out after his affair with model Hamisa Mobetto, things came crashing down.

“I don’t think he expected the post. He didn’t see it coming,” Zari said.

Diamond, on his part opened up about the reasons for his transgressions in a 2018 interview with Wasafi TV.

“To say the truth, God is my witness, it is clear she loved me more than I loved her,” the African Beauty singer said.

“She’s someone I respect because she given me children and I was in love with her…I can’t say I didn’t love her because I would be lying. But her love was too much. When it came to me, there were stupid things I did.”

Ivan Ssemwanga

Every year, fans will likely come across a post on Zari’s social media pages with images of her late, ex-husband Ivan.

The 43-year-old often pays her respects to her first husband, Ivan Ssemwanga, who was a renowned Uganda-born South African socialite and businessman. She visits his grave often and doesn’t shy off from speaking about the father of her three older sons.

And although Ivan was reportedly immensely wealthy, Zari revealed in an interview that he had been physically and verbally abusive to her, making their relationship toxic and troubled.

“It reached a point where the kids would hear me and him (Ivan) screaming in the bedroom. It got to a point where my son asked me why he kept doing that (abusing me),” the socialite said in an interview.

“It hurt me so badly. It was like a sword had been pierced through my heart.”

She added about the unfortunate abuse: “He once hit me so badly in a club because someone looked at me. I was never allowed to look at other people. That night he beat me so bad that he almost suffocated me.”

Sadly, Ivan succumbed to a heart attack in May 2017.