Lupita Nyong’o Gets Candid About Recent Breakup: ‘I Was Living in a Lot of Pain and Heartbreak’

Lupita Nyong’o reflects on her recent heartbreak.

The Oscar winner revealed in October that she and boyfriend Selema Masekela had broken up. In the new cover story for NET-A-PORTER’s digital title CARRIER, Nyong’o, 40, discussed why she decided to open up about the situation on social media at the time.

“I lived in a lot of pain and heartbreak,” she said. “I looked at my social media environment and thought I don’t want to be a part of this illusion that everything is always roses. There’s definitely a lesson to learn in this and I just want to be real about it.”

The A Quiet Place: Day One the actress also explained why she’s been so public with her relationship status — and why she might not be in the future.

“It was because I was sure about it,” Nyong’o said of her decision to be open with her fans. She added of her past policy of keeping relationships to herself: “That was very, very wise of me. I’m going back to those days, by the way.”

Lupita Nyong’o thanks fans for the “kindness I’ve received” following her split from Selema Masekela

Lupita Nyong’o October 21, 2023

Mark Von Holden/Variety via Getty Images

Nyong’o still hopes to find love again. She said CARRIER“Our purpose in life is to love. And that’s why you have to get back into it.”

The actress and Masekela, a TV presenter and sports commentator, publicly confirmed their relationship on Instagram in December 2022, although it is unclear when their relationship began.

CARRIER

In a statement on Instagram on October 19, 2023, Nyong’o wrote about her breakup, saying, “At this time it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly distance myself from someone I can no longer trust.” I’m in the season of heartbreak over a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by cheating,” Black panther the star then continued. “I’m tempted to run into the shadows and hide, only to return to the light when I’ve regained enough strength to say, ‘Whatever, my life is better this way.’ But I remind myself that the amount of pain I feel is equal to the measure of my capacity for love.”

CARRIER

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“And so, I choose to face the pain, I muster the courage to accept my life exactly as it is and I believe that this too will pass,” she added.

“The promise, they say, is that a tender heart breeds fearlessness. I hope that’s true… I’m sharing this to stay [100], and hoping that the knowledge of my experience might be useful to someone else who is experiencing the grip of a broken heart and who is willing to try to escape the pain and miss out on the wisdom that comes from it. Let’s face our pain so we don’t spread it.”

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Source: HIS Education