Tyler Perry presents: The new and unattached Tyler Perry.
The 51-year-old producer and actor revealed on Instagram on Wednesday, Dec. 16, that he is single and having a "midlife crisis." On Thursday, a source confirmed to E! News that Perry and longtime girlfriend Gelila Bekele, with whom he shares a 6-year-old son, amicably split and continue to be the best of friends and raise their son together.
"This is what a midlife crisis looks like," Perry wrote on Instagram, alongside a mirror selfie showing him wearing workout clothes. "I'm 51, single and wondering what the next chapter in my life will look like."
He continued, "Whatever it looks like I'm going to walk with God, be the best father and man I can be, hold my head up high, and try to look my best doing it!! In a world with so much sadness, please try and stay in the good! Merry Christmas and let's look forward to 2021 bringing us peace!"
Perry made no mention of Bekele, 34. She has also not commented on their breakup.
Perry and Bekele, a model, activist and documentary filmmaker, are believed to have been together for about a decade. He has rarely talked about her in the press.
However, Perry did answer a question about their relationship in an interview on rapper T.I.'s podcast ExpediTiously in March. When asked why he wasn't married, The Madea franchise creator, who is worth at least $1 billion, according to Forbes, responded, "I have someone who's wonderful and she's getting her share of all of it."
Perry also talked about keeping his and Bekele's son, Aman Tyler Perry, out of the spotlight. He said, "Even my son, being in the public...She and I are really good about that, making sure at 5 years old, he's protected, he's clear about who he is before people start telling him who he is. I'm good with that."