In 2022, Lupita Nyong'o and Selema Masekela went Instagram official with a collection of clips in which they're snapping in unison while their outfits change to the song “The King’s Affirmation (Chill Mix)” by Iniko, featuring Reuel Williams.
“We just click!” Nyong'o wrote in the caption, tagging Masekela, adding the hashtags #thisismylove #nuffsaid.
He shared the same reel on his page, captioning it, “Hearts are synched. My whole and actual love @lupitanyongo. #outkickedthecoverage.”
In October 2023, Nyong'o posted that she and Masekela had split under what sound like difficult circumstances. Here's everything we know about Nyong'o's former partner and their break up.
Who is Selema Masekela?
Masekela is from New York, and he's the son of famous South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela. The TV host mostly covers sports, and has reported on the Winter X Games for ESPN and the Summer Olympics for NBC. He's also done some acting and singing in his entertainment career.
How long were they together?
They haven't yet shared how they met or when, but Masekela has been vocal about his interest in the actress since 2016.
“Hypothetically speaking of course…let’s say you’re seated behind Lupita Nyong’o on an airplane, what would be your opening line?” Masekela tweeted that April. “Anyone comes up with a good opener for me with Lupita Nyong’o, send em. Cause I’m really sittin’ right behind her on this flight. #stumped.”
He eventually retweeted the suggestion, “Say hello, wait for her to respond. Tell her [your] dad shouted her out at a performance & freestyle from there.”
Masekela responded, “Yes!!! Well played. I will use this one. #playthedadcard @Lupita_Nyongo.”
So, maybe they introduced themselves.
On Thursday, October 19, Nyong'o posted that she was in a “season of heartbreak” after a “deception” by an unnamed loved one.
After noting there were more important things going on, she shared a message to her followers.
“At this moment, it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust…,” she wrote. “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.’”
She added, “But 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.”
She added the hashtag #Breakup.
On Saturday, October 21, she went on to share a thank you message to her followers in her Instagram Stories, beginning, “Thank you for all the kindness I have received from sharing my heartbreak news. The words of encouragement mean more to me than I anticipated. They are a balm.”
She added, “And it feels comforting to have a little corner online for the romantically heartbroken to gather.”
She then shared “resources” for anyone going through heartbreak and some of the supportive comments she has received.
What has Nyong'o been doing since her break up?
She has already shared quite a bit of her emotional processing on Instagram, but on November 3, she posted how much she appreciates the help of her friend Palmer Hefferan. She shared a loving tribute to Hefferan, explaining a bit about their long history before adding how much her friend had come through for her post-split.
“Recently, when my life was turned upside-down from heartbreak, Palmer flew in swiftly to be by my side and help me through the hardest days as I adjusted to my new reality,” wrote Nyong'o. “She made me delicious meals, she found me therapeutic activities to get my mind off things, she cried with me and made me laugh until I cried a more joyful kind of tear. She did not tire of being of service to me.”
The actress added that her friend gifted her with her first pet, Yoyo.
“Now every time I look at him and cuddle with him, I am reminded of the selfless love my sister from another mister showed me,” she said.
Who else has Nyong'o been connected to romantically?
In March of 2014, Us Weekly reported that Nyong'o was dating Somali-born rapper K’naan. They split a year later, and the actress went on to date fashion editor Mobolaji Dawodu. There were also unconfirmed rumors she had a relationship with actor Jared Leto.
“He’s still on speed dial because we were on that [Oscar campaign] journey together and he’s so embracing of me,” she told Net-a-Porter in March 2019. “There was an intimacy that grew from that, that goes beyond the dating rumors, beyond all that.”
Nyong’o has also denied dating rumors about herself and Michael B. Jordan, and told Vogue UK in December 2019 that “privacy is a commodity that is hard to come by.”
“Filming is so time-consuming. And intense,” she said. “With Black Panther, a lot of us were single. On Little Monsters, nobody was single.”
She added, “Everyone — when they’re done with their day’s work — wants to go home to their families, which makes a whole lot of sense. When you don’t have that, it’s very isolating.”
