Lupita Nyong'o confirms 'devastating' split from Selema Masekela after cosying up to Joshua Jackson

The 'heartbroken' Black Panther star says she's dissociating herself 'from someone I can no longer trust'
Lupita Nyong'o has announced her split from boyfriend Selema Masekela
Getty Images
Dominique Hines20 October 2023
The Weekender

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Lupita Nyong'o has confirmed her "devastating" split from boyfriend Selema Masekela one day after being seen cosying up to newly-single Joshua Jackson.

In a rare candid moment about her personal life, the Black Panther star took to Instagram to announce the "break-up" and "publicly disassociate from someone I can no longer trust".

The actress, 40, who started dating the sports commentator, 52, at the end of 2022, wrote in a lengthy post on Thursday: "There are much more important things going on in the world right now, and my 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…

"I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception. 

"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.'

"But I am reminded that the magnitude of the pain I am feeling is equal to the measure of my capacity for love," she continued. "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. I hope it’s true… 

"I share this to keep it, and 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. #Breakup

Lupita Nyong'o
Nyong'o introduced her now ex-boyfriend (pictured with her) in an Instagram challenge last December
Lupita Nyong'o/Instagram

"Let's face our pain so we don’t spread it."

The star's post was met by supportive comments from fans and several celebrities, including Bond actress Lashana Lynch, US actor Marlon Waynas and filmaker Ava DuVernay, who wrote: "We lift you up with love and sisterhood. Your miracles are all around you. Let us count them in confidence and in faith. xo''

Nyong'o's post came shortly after she was seen looking close with Dawson's Creek star Jackson, 45, at singer/actress Janelle Monae's The Age of Pleasure concert in Inglewood, California on Wednesday. 

The Oscar winner and Jackson, who shares three-year-old daughter Juno Rose Diana with estranged wife, British actress, Jodie Turner-Smith, 37, who has reportedly filed for divorce over their "unhealthy relationship", were seated beside each other and staring into each other's eyes and sharing jokes. 

In December the Wakanda actress shared a video on social media revealing her romance with Masekela as they did an Instagram "click" challenge where they clicked their fingers and the scene would change with them in different outfits. 

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