He’s been romantically linked to Cara Delevigne, Bella Hadid and Laura Woods during his 12 years in the spotlight. But despite the intense interest in his romantic history, Anthony Joshua has always tried to keep his love life strictly private.

However earlier this month, the British boxer, 34, sent tongues wagging when he put on an affectionate display with influencer and businesswoman Kika Osunde. After his triumph over Francis Ngannou on Saturday night, the athlete looked thrilled when he spotted Kika in the crowd after the match in Saudi Arabia.

AJ ran over to the social media star, 37, and gave her a hug before she then planted a kiss on his cheek.

According to The Sun, Anthony said to her: ‘How are you Kika? I haven’t seen you in so long! How are you?’

Days later, Kika posted a video on her Snapchat showing her arms wrapped around Anthony as they enjoyed some quad biking around sand dunes in Dubai.

As well as boasting almost 275,000 Instagram followers and being one of Snapchat’s ‘Top 5 UK Stars’, Kika is the proud co-founder of wig brand Good Hair and the Lagos restaurant Brass and Copper.

Although Anthony insists that he only has a relationship with professional boxing, here FEMAIL delves into the backstory of the woman who may have stolen his heart – from a leaked nude photo scandal to being slammed for a pricey career Q&A.

Upbringing and business dreams

Nigerian Kika was born in North West London in December 1987 and was the youngest of four ‘eccentric’ children, as she details on her website.

In an interview with Femmetrepreneur in 2017, Kika explained how her friends call her ‘Keeks or Ronks’ and described herself as ‘fun, warm, fashionable and vibrant’.

Praising her upbringing, Kika told the publication: ‘My mother is my biggest supporter and has inspired me to be the ambitious, tenacious devotee of Good Hair. She taught me good work ethic and how to be a go getter!’

Setting her sights on the business world from a young age, Kika applied to study Business & Marketing at University College Birmingham.

During her time at university, Kika met her business partner Chioma and the pair bonded over their shared love of wigs and weaves.

Following their graduation, Kika and Chioma set up Good Hair in 2009 and began extensively promoting it on Facebook – where they amassed a following of 135,000 in just two years.

As well as selling their hair extensions online, the pair also set up a salon in Lagos – which also offers nail, lash and male grooming services.

In January 2018, Kika and Chioma set up the restaurant Brass & Copper in Lagos, which they described as having a ‘metallic Scandi-esque vibe’.

Kika’s ‘arrest warrant’

In early 2020, Kika found herself embroiled in scandal in Nigeria after being accused of leaking a nude photo of a fashion designer, who is married to a billionaire businessman.

After damaging stories about the designer emerged in local media, the journalists responsible claimed Kika was their source – which the social media star has always denied.

Nigerian publication The Will reported that the social media star was wanted by police for questioning but had ‘taken refuge in Ghana’ at the time before later returning to the UK.

In March 2020, Kika addressed the allegations against her on her Instagram Stories.

She said in a statement: ‘I wish to inform the general public that I’ve seen what is out there against me and my person. But anyway, I’m not ready to join issues with anybody.

‘As it stands, I’m in discussions with my lawyer and I’m making a complaint to the British authorities to be aware that there is also a threat to my life. At this point, I’m not safe anymore. I’m aware that I’ve been reported to the DSS.

‘I know my rights and the law is going to take its cause (sic). I’m going to follow through the due process to fight my battle.

But not relent, I’m not scared of blackmail or intimidation from those trying to hide their atrocities.

At the appropriate time I will speak my truth with facts. I know my rights, and I will fight for my rights. Stay tuned…’

Kika does not appear to have ever addressed the allegations again. In an interview with Nigerian publication The Guardian, Kika revealed how she spent the pandemic in the UK.

She explained: ‘I’ve stayed very close to my family. We all decided to quarantine together, which was the best decision we made as we went through all the mental and emotional turmoils of a global pandemic together.’

Slammed for ‘Kika Experience’

Kika now splits her time between London and Dubai and has amassed over 593,000 followers on Snapchat.

The social media star has been named a ‘Top 5 UK Snapchat Star’, having racked up over 100m views on the platform.

In 2022, the star hosted an event in London called ‘The Kika Experience’ where followers could pay £225-a-ticket for an exclusive Q&A with the influencer.

On her blog, Kika wrote: ‘By the end of the experience, you’ll walk away with a playbook telling you all you need to know creating and leveraging valuable relationships across your career.’

On her YouTube channel The Way Up with Sol, social media star Solange criticised Kika for asking her fans to pay £225 for a ticket without specifying who the panellists at the experience would be.

Solange said: ‘Even though [her fans] want to get that experience, they might need a little more explanation because there are so many scammers out there.’

In February 2023, Kika was pictured rubbing shoulders with ex British Vogue editor Edward Enninful at a Snapchat and Vogue augmented reality fashion exhibition opening in London.

She wrote on her blog: ‘I had a chance to talk with the amazing Edward Enninful, and at one point, I even locked eyes with the legendary Anna Wintour herself who was impressed by my [Victoria Beckham] shimmery dress. It was unbelievable to be in the same room as such an icon.’

In recent years, Kika has worked with Tiffany & Co, Tom Ford and Chanel. She has also set up the Kika Asunde Foundation, which provides mentoring, accessible financing and ‘entrepreneurship training’ to local communities.

Anthony Joshua ‘romance’

Although it is not known when the pair met, Anthony Joshua put on a very cosy display with British hair salon owner and influencer Kika Osunde following his knockout match in Dubai earlier this month. The boxing champ cuddled up to the star as they quad biked through the desert after sharing a ringside kiss two round demolition of Francis Ngannou in nearby Saudi Arabia.

According to The Sun AJ rushed to Kika in the crowed following the match and asked: ‘How are you Kika? I haven’t seen you in so long! How are you?’. As she replied: ‘Congratulations. I’m good,’ before planting a kiss on his cheek.

They later went racing through the Dubai dunes with Kika wrapping her arms around the athlete and resting her head on his back.

According to the publication Anthony had been riding alone, with Kika in a nearby buggy with pals, before she jumped on to join him. A source said: ‘They looked very cosy and like they were having fun with each other.’

The pair also dined together at swanky Lebanese restaurant Babati Lounge and posed with pals for a snap outside the venue.

A spokesman for AJ told MailOnline: ‘Anthony is in a relationship…. with professional boxing. He has no time for extra commitments. He is having a break from boxing and will return to the gym this week. Sadly the claims of a relationship are just rumours.’

Anthony, who shares eight-year-old son JJ with ex partner Nicole Osbourne, has previously been linked to Gigi Hadid and Rita Mahrez, the then wife of Man City player Riyad Mahrez.

Last year Anthony revealed why he still lived with his mother insisting that any future partner would struggle to convince him to move out. The boxer, who moved back into his mother’s two bedroom ex-council flat in 2017 sat down with Louis Theroux to discuss his close relationship with his family and warned future girlfriends they’ll need to compete with his mum, Yeta Odusanya.

‘I still live with my mum,’ the two-time world champion told the BBC. ‘In our culture, we grew up in our own family home, we support our parents.

‘Why am I going to move out and leave my mum by herself, for some girl? Family is the most important thing.

‘When a girl gets with me, she ain’t just marrying me, she’s marrying my family.’

The grounded boxing star, who is not publicly in a relationship, admitted that he likes to keep his personal life private as he cannot live up to the expectations people have of him. He continued: ‘Are we going to dissect everything I say and use it as a narrative to create a story? That’s why I keep myself to myself.

‘You put all this pressure on yourself to come and be this big star and be perfect. I’m telling you, they’ll pull you down. The higher you are, the bigger the drop.’