L.A.X MARRIES ELLA IN MALTA, CLOSING A YEAR OF LOVE, CULTURE AND NEW BEGINNINGS
From a January proposal to a traditional Nigerian ceremony and finally a private wedding in Malta, the Afrobeats star has turned a personal milestone into a quiet international celebration.
Exclusive to Ekocity | Entertainment Desk
For a musician accustomed to stages, cameras and the constant movement of public life, L.A.X chose something altogether different for one of the most important performances of his life.
There was no concert crowd waiting for him in Malta. No festival lights. No elaborate music-industry spectacle. Instead, there was Ella, family, close friends and a ceremony in the historic Maltese town of Naxxar.
On Wednesday, September 16, Nigerian singer and songwriter Damilola Afolabi, professionally known as L.A.X, married his partner, Ella, in a white wedding ceremony in Malta. The singer confirmed the marriage himself on Instagram, describing the moment as being “legally hitched” to the love of his life. (Lifestyle)
It was an intimate conclusion to a relationship that had unfolded through several chapters — engagement, traditional marriage and, finally, a destination wedding thousands of kilometres from Nigeria.
FROM “D & E” TO “I DO”
The story began publicly on January 16, when L.A.X proposed to Ella in a romantic outdoor setting decorated with flowers. The initials “D & E” — for Damilola and Ella — became a quiet signature of the occasion.
Ella accepted, and the announcement quickly became one of the more personal glimpses fans had received into the private life of an artist who has spent much of his career allowing his music, rather than his relationships, to occupy the spotlight.
Eight months later, the initials had become a marriage. The couple subsequently celebrated their traditional wedding ceremony in Nigeria in June, bringing the union into the cultural and familial traditions of home before travelling to Malta for the white wedding. (QED Nigeria)
That sequence — Nigerian tradition followed by a European destination ceremony — reflects the increasingly international character of contemporary African celebrity weddings, where heritage and global mobility can exist within the same celebration.
MALTA, THE FINAL CHAPTER
Naxxar provided a dramatically different setting from the familiar luxury venues of Lagos. The Maltese town, known for its historic architecture and old-world character, became the backdrop for a ceremony that footage circulating online showed to be intimate and deeply personal.
Videos from the celebration captured the couple exchanging vows, while another showed them making a celebratory entrance into their reception as guests applauded and cheered. (QED Nigeria)
For L.A.X, the symbolism of the location was unmistakable. “Malta, you have our hearts,” the singer wrote after the ceremony. (Lifestyle)
It was a brief message, but fitting for an occasion that appeared deliberately removed from the scale of the entertainment industry.
THE ARTIST BEHIND THE CELEBRATION
Long before the wedding photographs appeared online, L.A.X had established himself as one of the recognisable figures of Nigeria’s Afrobeats generation. Born Damilola Afolabi, he first attracted widespread attention in 2013 with “Caro,” his collaboration with Wizkid under Starboy Entertainment.
The song earned a nomination at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards. He later collaborated again with Wizkid on “Ginger” and went on to establish his own record label, Rasaki Music. (Lifestyle)
His career has since extended beyond recording and performing. In April 2026, L.A.X was appointed executive director of SIFAX Logistics, a subsidiary of SIFAX Group, adding a corporate dimension to a career that began in music. (QED Nigeria)
The appointment offered another indication of an artist moving into a broader phase of his public life — one in which music, business, family and personal identity increasingly intersect.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF SPOTLIGHT
Celebrity weddings often become spectacles of their own: guest lists become news, designer outfits become headlines and social media turns private moments into public entertainment.
L.A.X and Ella’s Malta ceremony has followed a somewhat quieter path. The available footage reveals celebration without overwhelming spectacle: vows, family, friends, music and the newlyweds entering their reception together.
There is something significant about that restraint. For an artist whose professional life has been built around being seen and heard, marriage offered an opportunity to mark a major personal transition without turning the occasion entirely into another public performance.
And perhaps that is the most striking element of the Malta wedding. The singer who once introduced himself to a generation through songs such as “Caro” has now entered a different chapter — not as a performer on a stage, but as a husband beginning a new life with his partner.
FROM LAGOS TO MALTA
The journey from the Nigerian traditional ceremony to the Maltese white wedding also tells a larger story about today’s African entertainment class. The geography of African celebrity has changed.
Artists increasingly live and work across borders. Their audiences are global, their businesses international and their most important personal moments can take place anywhere from Lagos to London, Accra to Dubai, Paris to Malta.
Yet the Nigerian traditional wedding remained part of L.A.X and Ella’s story. The Malta ceremony did not replace that tradition. It followed it. Together, the two celebrations formed one matrimonial narrative — rooted in Nigerian culture but expressed on an international stage.
For the couple, Malta was not simply a destination. It was the setting for the final exchange of vows in a journey that began with two initials: D & E. Now those initials represent something more permanent.
Damilola and Ella are married. And for L.A.X, the next chapter begins not beneath the lights of a concert stage, but alongside the person he has chosen to share the road ahead with.
Ekocity Entertainment Desk congratulates L.A.X and Ella on their marriage.
Fawumi Kayode Abiodun
Political Analyst | CEO, Ekocity Media | Publisher, Ekocity Magazine and The Capitol Post
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