Lupita Nyong’o has called it quits with Selema Masekela.
The Black Panther actress announced the news in a lengthy statement on Thursday—nearly 10 months after she and the TV host publicly confirmed their romantic relationship. Although she didn’t provide details on what led to the split, Nyong’o made cryptic references to “deception” and distancing herself from “someone [she] can no longer trust.”
“I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception,” she wrote. “I am tempted to run into the shadows and hide, only to return to the light when I have regained my strength enough for me to say, ‘Whatever, my life is better this way.’”
Nyong’o admitted that the experience has been difficult, but she hasn’t let the heartbreak hinder her optimism.
“I am choosing to face the pain, cultivating the courage to meet my life exactly as it is, and trusting that this too shall pass,” she wrote. “The promise, they say, is that a tender heart is what gives birth to fearlessness. I hope it’s true…”
The Oscar-winning actress said she was sharing her story to “keep it 100,” and to help others who have found themselves in similar situations.
“I share this… hoping that the knowledge of my experience might be useful to someone else out there experiencing the grip of heartbreak who is poised to try and escape from the pain and miss out on the wisdom that comes from it,” she continued. “#Breakup Let’s face our pain so we don’t spread it.”
You can read the full statement below.
It’s unclear when Nyong’o and Masekela officially began dating, but they apparently crossed paths as far back as 2016. Masekela took to Twitter—now known as X—that year to say he had seen Nyong’o on a flight and was immediately charmed.
“Hypothetically speaking of course…Let’s say you’re seated behind Lupita Nyong’o on an airplane, what would be your opening line?” he tweeted.
Nyong’o’s announcement came just a day after she was spotted at a Janelle Monáe concert alongside fellow actor Joshua Jackson. As pointed out by TMZ, the sighting led some to believe that the stars were romantically involved and possibly rebounding with one another. Nyong’o had recently removed all Instagram pictures of Masekela; and Jackson’s estranged wife, Jodie Turner-Smith, had filed for divorce earlier this month.
Sources confirmed that the two had arrived at the show together, but were part of a large group of friends.
Masekela has not publicly commented on the split.
