Nneka Ihim joins The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 8

We love Housewives season! 

South Africa’s Housewives from across five franchises are bringing the heat to Jamaica in The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip - South Africa Season 1. The Real Housewives of Nairobi Season 2 is now in full swing, and we can enjoy seven more African Real Housewives series, along with global Housewives action in The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 4. 

And if you’re looking for a different kind of crossover, we’ve got you. The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 8 gets a touch of African elegance when Nigerian-American Nneka Ihim joins the cast this season. Her tagline? “Nigeria raised me, LA made me, and Potomac will remember me”. 

Stream The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 8 on Showmax now. New episodes on Thursdays. 

Watch the trailer for The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 8

Newcomer Nneka seems to have plenty in common with Potomac’s Dr Wendy Onyinye Osefo, the Nigerian-American academic who joined the main cast in Season 5. Think high-achieving women with an interest in politics and journalism who love their Nigerian culture and values. They’re already connected, as their husbands have been Facebook friends since they both studied at the University of Maryland. But expect frost in the air after Ashley questions Nneka on-screen about a rumour surrounding Wendy’s family … that turns out to centre on a deeply taboo issue in Nigeria. Uh oh. 

Until then, here are six things to know about Nneka Ihim.

1. She’s a child of the diaspora

Nneka Colleen Egbujiobi’s parents, Leo (a cardiologist and philanthropist) and Bridget Egbujiobi (queen of the house), moved to the US from Okija in Nigeria’s Anambra State in 1979. "My daddy is a rich b----, and he made sure his daughter was a rich b----, too," Nneka quips in the show. She’s not kidding. Her dad gave her a Mercedes G-Wagon as a wedding gift! Nneka, the youngest of four siblings, was born in Boston in 1987, but her favourite destination in the whole world is Nigeria. She loves it all, from her family’s home village, to the bustling nightlife of Lagos. Her favourite Lagos spots include Slice, RSVP, Mako, Zaza, Polo Lounge, Wanni Fuga and Lagos Boat Club. 

2. She’s a lawyer

Nneka studied English language and literature before qualifying as a lawyer in 2012. She  practised in California as a labour and employment attorney for eight years, and is qualified to practise in three US states. She also flexed her political wings briefly as an assistant to then-Wisconsin State Senate majority leader Judy Robson. Nneka now works as the in-house employment counsel for the financial technology company Block (the company behind Cash App, Tidal and more). 

3. She’s a journalist

While she was still at university, ambitious Nneka was a university correspondent for the CNN news network. She also worked as a correspondent for Beloit Daily News, reporting on everything from a local jewellery designer whose work appeared on the TV show Friends, to how mail is delivered by carriers jumping on and off a moving boat in Wisconsin’s Lake Geneva. While she’s not an award-winning journalist like Wendy, she has at least popped her toes in the water. 

4. She’s a businesswoman

Nneka is the founder and CEO of the dating app Hello Africa, which won Best Indigenous Mobile Application of the Year at the African Royalty Awards in 2021 (not to be confused with the African Royal Awards). Hello Africa is a matchmaking and social networking app that connects people of African descent around the world who’re looking for love with someone who shares their cultural values, or just to make contact with people across the African diaspora who understand their experiences. The app also promises to help Africans to make business connections abroad. 

Along with this, Nneka has a sparkling wine brand Bido (the name means beginning), which she believes is perfect to take along for a casual day on the water aboard your favourite yacht. 

5. She’s a wife

Nneka describes her handsome husband as “a medical doctor by day, a scrubs model by afternoon, nightclub owner by night”. She and Nigerian-American doctor Ikenna Ihim married in August 2021, and Tiwa Savage performed at their wedding. While Nneka runs a dating app, she and Ikenna met the “old fashioned” way. He slipped into her DMs on Instagram and started chatting her up in Igbo after he caught her snooping on his page because he’d been named the “hottie doctor of the week”! After the wedding, Nneka moved from LA to join Ikenna in his hometown in Maryland, making Potomac her new stomping ground. 

Ikenna was born in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. His father is businessman Nze OFN Ihim, and his late mother, Daisy, was a barrister. Ikenna also invests in nightclubs like CueBar in Lagos, and he’s a prince. Ikenna’s chieftaincy title is Nze Ikeoha 1 of Nkwerre. In this capacity, he stepped up to help his village during the pandemic by self-funding and paying for delivery of hand sanitisers and food to every household in Amorji-Ugwu in Imo State. 

6. And she’s a mother?

We’ll see. Nneka starts a difficult fertility journey this season and she’s hoping that she’ll be able to help destigmatise the IVF process in her community. 

Stream The Real Housewives of Potomac Season 8 on Showmax now. New episodes on Thursdays.