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Personal life

Soyinka has been married three times and divorced twice. He has eight children from his three marriages and two other daughters. His first marriage was in 1958 to the late British writer Barbara Dixon, whom he met at the University of Leeds in the 1950s. Barbara was the mother of his first son, Olaokun, and his daughter Morenike. His second marriage was in 1963 to Nigerian librarian Olaide Idowu, with whom he had three daughters – Moremi, Iyetade (1965–2013), Peyibomi – and a second son, Ilemakin. Soyinka's youngest daughter is Amani. Soyinka married Folake Doherty in 1989 and the couple have three sons: Tunlewa, Bojode and Eniara.

In 2014, Soyinka revealed his battle with prostate cancer.

Soyinka has commented on his close friendships with Toni Morrison and Henry Louis Gates Jr., saying: "Friendship, to me, is what saves one's sanity."