Not many people can say they built an empire out of being themselves, flaws, controversies, bold moves, and all. Papaya Ex is one of the very few. In a Nigerian social media landscape that is cluttered with faces fighting for attention, she stood out not because she played it safe, but because she refused to. From growing up in one of Lagos’s tougher neighbourhoods to commanding a following of over two million people on Instagram and now stepping onto cinema screens as both an actress and a producer, the story of Papaya Ex is one of the more remarkable reinventions Nigeria’s internet generation has produced.
This biography covers everything about her life, career, controversies, and where she stands today.
Who Is Papaya Ex?
Papaya Ex is the social media name of Abike Halima Raheem, a Nigerian model, actress, television personality, content creator, vlogger, and social media influencer. She is also widely known by her other nickname, Abike Arab Money, a handle that captures the bold, money-celebrating persona she built her online brand around. She has also been referred to by fans as Big Paps, a term of endearment that speaks to both her personality and her larger-than-life presence on social media.
She is one of the most followed and most discussed digital personalities in Nigeria, equally loved and criticised, but never ignored. Over the past several years, she has evolved from a lifestyle influencer known for provocative posts into a film producer and actress with a legitimate creative body of work.
Early Life and Background — Born in Lagos, Raised in Struggle
Abike Halima Raheem was born on January 9, 1994, in Lagos State, Nigeria. While some sources have suggested Ibadan in Oyo State as her place of birth, the most consistently cited account places her birth and upbringing in Lagos, where she spent her formative years. Her family has roots in Oyo State, and she identifies as Yoruba, coming from a Muslim household that instilled in her the values of faith and resilience.
Her childhood was not one of privilege. Accounts from across her career indicate that she grew up in a less affluent part of Lagos, and her journey to the glamorous lifestyle she now presents on social media has been defined by the kind of real-world hustle that resonates deeply with a generation of young Nigerians who also started from very little. She has a younger sister named Yomidun, who is also active on social media and is the only sibling she has publicly acknowledged.
Education
Details about her education remain limited, which is in keeping with the privacy she maintains around personal matters. She is known to have completed both primary school and secondary school in Lagos State, obtaining her First School Leaving Certificate and her Senior Secondary School Certificate from institutions in the city. She has not publicly disclosed the names of these schools, nor has she spoken extensively about her university education, if any. What is clear is that whatever formal education she received, it was the school of Lagos itself, with all its hustling and social dynamics, that truly shaped who she became.
Career Beginnings — From GoldMyne TV to ONTV’s Style Street
Before she was a viral influencer with millions of followers, Papaya Ex was grinding in the media industry the traditional way. In 2015, she kicked off her professional career as a host and producer for a fashion-focused television programme with GoldMyne TV, one of Nigeria’s popular entertainment and lifestyle channels. It was here that she first learned the mechanics of being on camera, the importance of personal branding, and how to engage an audience beyond just showing up.
From GoldMyne, she moved to ONTV, where she anchored a programme called Style Street, a show dedicated to fashion trends analysis. This gave her experience in presenting, research, and on-camera personality development that would prove invaluable when she later transitioned into social media full time. These television years were not glamorous in the way her later career would be, but they laid the professional foundation that serious content creators often skip when they chase overnight fame.
Rise to Social Media Fame — The Making of Papaya Ex
The transition from television hosting to social media dominance did not happen overnight, but when it happened, it was decisive. Papaya Ex began building her Instagram presence with the kind of bold, unfiltered content that was rare among Nigerian female influencers at the time. She was unapologetically provocative, posting images and videos that flaunted her body, her lifestyle, and her opinions without the kind of careful self-censorship that most Nigerian women in the public eye practiced.
She became one of the most discussed women on Nigerian Twitter, a platform where commentary about influencers can make or break reputations. Rather than shy away from the commentary, she leaned into it. The more people talked, the more followers she gained. The more controversies arose, the more her name trended. She understood something that many of her peers did not: in the attention economy, being controversial is not a liability. It is a strategy.
By the time she crossed the one million follower mark on Instagram, she was already a cultural phenomenon. To celebrate the milestone, she went on a giveaway spree that drew even more people to her page, and her following continued to climb. Today, her Instagram account sits at over two million followers, making her one of the most-followed Nigerian influencers on the platform.
The YouTube Chapter — Celebrity Interviews and Growing Influence
Recognising that Instagram alone was not enough to sustain a long-term media career, Papaya Ex launched a YouTube channel that took a different approach from what people expected of her. Rather than just posting lifestyle vlogs or reaction content, she built an interview format where she brought on both established and up-and-coming celebrities to have genuine conversations.
The channel, PapayaEx TV, became a platform where visibility mattered. Emerging artists and entertainers who wanted more eyes on their work came to her because she had the audience. Established names came because a conversation with Papaya Ex was guaranteed to generate engagement and discussion. The channel gave her brand depth beyond the provocative image, showing a side of her that could hold a conversation, draw out stories, and add real value to the entertainment ecosystem.
She has also been active on TikTok, where her content ranges from lifestyle updates to entertainment commentary. Her TikTok presence contributed to a wave of viral moments that kept her name in circulation even during periods when she was not generating controversy on Instagram or Twitter.
Acting and Film Career — From Skits to Nollywood
Long before she released a film, Papaya Ex was dabbling in short skits and brief character performances that she shared on her social media platforms. These were not treated seriously by many observers, who filed them under the general category of influencer content. But the reaction she received was telling. People in her comments and DMs kept saying the same thing: you can actually act.
She appeared in comedy skits and short films with other Nigerian influencers and digital creators over the years, developing a screen presence that was natural and energetic. She was also featured in Two Way Street, one of the Nigerian productions that added an early acting credit to her name. Over time, these small roles were building something bigger in her mind, a desire to not just play characters on a two-minute skit but to carry a full story from beginning to end.
She also worked on Hours Before Dawn, a production she was involved in as an actress, which demonstrated her growing seriousness about the craft before she made her most significant move.
The Night Market (2025) — Her Debut as Producer and Lead Actress
December 5, 2025, marked the most significant professional milestone of Papaya Ex’s career to date. That was the day she released The Night Market on her YouTube channel, a full-length feature film that she produced and starred in as the lead actress. The film clocked in at one hour and thirty minutes and hit over one million YouTube views within its first two weeks of release, a remarkable number for a debut feature.
The Night Market is set within the genre of Afri-fantasy and magical realism. The story centres on a young woman named Nora, played by Papaya Ex, who is heartbroken after her boyfriend chooses her best friend over her. In her pain, she stumbles upon a mysterious market that appears only once every twenty years, where the currency is not money but human attributes. People trade their peace, their memories, their sight, or even their life in exchange for wealth, love, and success. Nora enters the market seeking love and quickly discovers that the world she acquires is perfect on the surface but hollow underneath, a pointed allegory about the dangers of shortcuts and the value of earned experience.
The film features a genuinely star-studded ensemble cast including Nollywood veterans Tony Umeh, Tina Mba, and Chidi Dike, alongside popular figures from the digital and entertainment world like Sydney Talker, MC Lively, James Brown, Hermes, Pinki Debbie, Sexy Steel, BBNaija’s Chichi, Akeem Ogara, and Rosemary Afuwape. Critics noted the film’s impressive ambition and original concept, with one reviewer giving it a 6.5 out of 10, praising its supernatural allegory and the emotional power of Nora’s character arc while noting that some scenes felt preachy or unevenly executed. Another review gave it a 6 out of 10, calling it bold and original but pointing to pacing issues.
Papaya Ex responded to critics who questioned whether influencers could be taken seriously as actors with characteristic directness. She made it clear she was not in Nollywood for fame, which she already had, but because acting was something she had privately wanted for years and had finally chosen to pursue with full commitment.
Brand Deals and Business Ventures
Alongside her media work, Papaya Ex has cultivated a strong commercial portfolio. She has served as an ambassador for Fashion Nova, the international fast-fashion brand with a significant following in Nigeria and among Nigerian diaspora communities globally. The partnership aligned naturally with her image as a fashion-forward, unapologetically stylish woman.
She also launched her own perfume line, a move that expanded her brand into product ownership rather than just endorsement. The collection received attention from her followers and drew coverage on TikTok, positioning her alongside a small group of Nigerian influencers who have successfully moved from promotion to production in the beauty and lifestyle space.
As a luxury and lifestyle influencer, she has collaborated with hotels, beauty brands, and other consumer companies, building a commercial operation that generates revenue across multiple streams. Her Instagram page explicitly lists hotels, beauty, and fashion among her content verticals, and she has maintained a consistent level of brand integration that speaks to her reputation as a reliable commercial partner for lifestyle companies operating in Nigeria.
Major Controversies That Defined Her Public Image
Papaya Ex has never had a quiet year. Controversy has followed her career not as an accident but almost as a feature, and several specific incidents stand out as defining moments in how Nigerians came to know and discuss her.
In July 2021, she announced on TikTok that she was among the chosen contestants for the Big Brother Naija reality show, a claim that generated enormous excitement among her followers. When it turned out to be false, the backlash was swift and intense. Critics used the incident to argue that her entire persona was built on exaggeration and fabrication. She took the heat and kept moving.
Later in 2021, she was called out for falsely representing a property as hers in posts she shared on social media. The incident added another layer to the narrative her critics had constructed around her, that of an influencer inflating a lifestyle to appear wealthier and more successful than she was. Once again, she absorbed the controversy without retreating.
In June 2022, an Instagram blogger alleged that a married man was bankrolling her lifestyle, claiming the individual was a fraudster who had abandoned his pregnant wife in connection with his involvement with the influencer. Papaya Ex denied the claims. The story, nonetheless, trended extensively across Nigerian social media and became one of the most-discussed controversies of her career.
Her 2022 birthday also became a flashpoint when she displayed a large amount of cash on social media as part of her celebration, drawing accusations of clout chasing from detractors who felt the display was performative. For her supporters, it was simply Papaya being Papaya.
What these controversies reveal collectively is not just a willingness to attract attention but a specific skill at surviving attention, maintaining a loyal core audience through every storm while continuing to grow her platform.
The February 2026 Police Assault Incident
In February 2026, Papaya Ex found herself at the centre of a controversy that went beyond social media drama and into questions of civil rights and police conduct. In the early hours of Saturday, February 21, 2026, she went live on TikTok in an emotional state, alleging that a Nigerian police officer had physically assaulted her while she was returning from a movie set in the Ajah area of Lagos.
According to her account, the officer struck her in the face with a gun, assaulted her driver, and behaved inappropriately toward her. She said that she, her driver, her personal assistant, and two others in the vehicle were all involved in the encounter. She later wrote in a statement that she was held at the Ajah Police Station from approximately 1 am until 10:30 am that morning.
The Nigerian Police Force, through its spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin, gave a markedly different account. According to the police, a patrol team stopped her vehicle during a routine night stop-and-search. She allegedly refused to allow a search, invoking her status by saying her public profile meant the officers should know better than to search her vehicle. The police said that after she agreed to go to the station, she directed her driver to speed away, forcing the patrol van to radio ahead to intercept the car.
Papaya Ex flatly denied the police account, writing a detailed open letter to the DPO of the Ajah Police Station in which she disputed each element of the version attributed to her. She pointed out that an officer who had been part of the incident came to her privately afterward and acknowledged he had not known who she was, which she argued undermined the police’s claim that she had boasted about her celebrity status beforehand. She maintained that the violence was real, that her body ached, and that the experience had shaken her deeply.
The incident ignited a broad public conversation about police conduct toward young Nigerians, the treatment of women at night checkpoints, and whether celebrity status in Nigeria provides any real protection or simply additional exposure to targeted harassment.
Personal Life — Family, Relationships, and Private World
Despite the openness of her public persona, Papaya Ex keeps her private life carefully guarded. She has not publicly confirmed a romantic relationship and has told her followers on multiple occasions that she is single. She has a male best friend named Israel who people frequently misidentify as her boyfriend, and she has addressed this directly.
She was raised in a Muslim Yoruba household and remains connected to her religious roots, even as her public persona operates in spaces that many conservative Muslim communities would consider at odds with Islamic values. This tension is something she has never publicly explored in depth, but it is a layer of her identity that adds complexity to the picture.
Her younger sister Yomidun is the only family member who has appeared in the public eye alongside her, and the two appear to have a close relationship. Papaya Ex has not confirmed whether she has children.
Net Worth and Assets
Estimates of Papaya Ex’s net worth vary significantly across different sources, ranging from $30,000 at the conservative end to figures as high as $500,000 depending on the year and the methodology used. A reasonable current estimate would place her net worth somewhere around $200,000 to $300,000, reflecting income from brand endorsements, Instagram partnerships, YouTube ad revenue, event hosting, acting fees, production work, and her perfume business.
She owns at least two Mercedes-Benz vehicles, the first of which she acquired in 2021 for a reported sum of over thirty million naira, and a second which she described as an end-of-year gift to herself later the same year. She previously owned a Lexus vehicle that she purchased in 2020. She lives in one of the more affluent neighbourhoods in Lagos State.
Papaya Ex’s Legacy and Impact on Nigerian Digital Culture
What Papaya Ex represents in the Nigerian digital landscape is more than just an influencer story. She is a case study in how the internet can serve as both a ladder and a mirror. She climbed it by showing Nigerians a version of aspiration that was unfiltered, provocative, and deliberately not respectable in the traditional sense. And in doing so, she reflected back to a generation of young Nigerians something they recognised in themselves but rarely saw celebrated in public life.
Her transition into film production and acting as a fully credited writer, producer, and lead actress with The Night Market is the clearest sign yet that she is not content to remain defined by the controversies that built her name. She is now in the business of making culture rather than just commenting on it.
Whether you admire her or are exhausted by her, Papaya Ex is a woman who refused to be small. In Nigeria’s competitive digital space, that counts for everything.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Papaya Ex’s real name? Her real name is Abike Halima Raheem. She is also known as Abike Arab Money and Big Paps.
How old is Papaya Ex? She was born on January 9, 1994, making her 31 years old as of 2025.
Where is Papaya Ex from? She grew up in Lagos State, Nigeria. Her family has roots in Oyo State, and she identifies as Yoruba and Muslim.
What is Papaya Ex’s net worth? Her net worth is estimated at between $200,000 and $300,000, derived from Instagram brand deals, YouTube, acting, event hosting, and her perfume business.
Is Papaya Ex married? No. She has stated publicly that she is not in a relationship and does not have a confirmed partner.
What is Papaya Ex’s debut movie? Her debut film as both producer and lead actress is The Night Market, released on December 5, 2025, on her YouTube channel PapayaEx TV.
Who are the actors in The Night Market? The cast includes Tony Umeh, Tina Mba, Chidi Dike, Sydney Talker, MC Lively, James Brown, Hermes, Pinki Debbie, Sexy Steel, Chichi from BBNaija, Akeem Ogara, and Rosemary Afuwape.
What happened between Papaya Ex and the Nigerian Police in 2026? In February 2026, she alleged that a police officer physically assaulted her, struck her with a gun, and behaved inappropriately during a late-night stop-and-search in Ajah, Lagos. The Nigerian Police disputed her account, claiming she refused to cooperate during a routine stop. She wrote an open letter to the Ajah DPO disputing the police’s version of events. The incident triggered national debate about police conduct.
Did Papaya Ex actually go for BBNaija? No. In July 2021, she falsely claimed to be a chosen contestant for the Big Brother Naija reality show. The claim was later confirmed to be untrue, which generated significant backlash.
Does Papaya Ex have a sister? Yes. Her younger sister Yomidun is publicly known and also maintains a social media presence.
What TV shows has Papaya Ex hosted? She hosted a fashion programme with GoldMyne TV in 2015 and later anchored Style Street, a fashion trends analysis show on ONTV.
What does Papaya Ex sell? Beyond her media work, she has launched her own perfume line and has partnered with brands including Fashion Nova as a brand ambassador.