In a lengthy, heartfelt statement, actress Lupita Nyong’o took to Instagram on Oct. 19 to announce her split from her boyfriend, Salema Masekela. She told her followers she wanted to share so that she could “face [her] pain so that we don’t spread it.”
In a series of slides, Nyong’o, 40, started by acknowledging that there were much more important things going on in the world, and shared that her “
thoughts are with those who are deeply suffering.”“At this moment, it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust,” the Mexican-Kenyan actress wrote. “I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception.”
Nyong’o admitted that all of what had happened made her want to “run into the shadows and hide.” However, she continued, “I am reminded that the magnitude of the pain I am feeling is equal to the measure of my capacity for love. And so, 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. The promise, they say, is that a tender heart is what gives birth to fearlessness.”
The Black Panther star wanted to share her difficult experience in the hopes that it might help any of her fans going through something similar: “try and escape from the pain and miss out on the wisdom that comes from it. #Breakup.”
Nyong’o concluded the post, “Let’s face our pain so we don’t spread it,”
Nyong’o never mentioned Masekela—a 52-year-old television show host and sports commentator—by name. Still, the pair confirmed their relationship in December of last year with a video on Instagram.