Indonesian musician’s wife says he told her to take off her niqab to show off her beauty, cheats on her anyway

A case of alleged infidelity involving an Indonesian musician is gripping the nation after his wife spilled everything that almost led to the dissolution of their marriage.

Inara Rusli (30), who married singer-songwriter Virgoun Tambunan (36) in 2014, recently uploaded a series of Instagram stories in which she shared that she had grown tired of her husband’s serial infidelity amid suspicions that he wanted her to agree to a polygamous marriage.

“This time I am exhausted because I had given him so many chances. But I ended up being manipulated,” Inara wrote.

Inara, herself formerly a member of the girl group Bexxa, alleged that the former Last Child frontman has a particularly special relationship with a woman, identified by her initials TAA, since 2021. After she found out about Inara in August 2022, she made Virgoun sign a letter containing an admission of the affair and a promise to stay faithful from then on, a violation of which could see him reported to the authorities for adultery (which is illegal in Indonesia).

In other Instagram stories, Inara said Virgoun cheated on her despite pressuring her to maintain her physical appearance.

“I had no problems with my husband’s demand to lower my weight to 48 kilograms even though I had to endure the pain from injections. And that he told me to go to beauty clinics for laser therapy on certain parts of my body,” she wrote.

“He told me to remove my niqab (face veil) because he still enjoyed worldly pleasures and he wanted to be acknowledged as having a beautiful wife.”

Inara also said that Virgoun asked for sex while they were fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. Under Islamic rules, one cannot engage in sexual activities while fasting during the day.

Virgoun has been among the top trending topics in Indonesian social media for the past few days, as netizens call for the musician to be canceled over his alleged infidelity. He has yet to give a public statement addressing the scandal.

Inara, meanwhile, said she has not asked for divorce out of consideration for their three children and their extended families.