LUPITA NYONG’O//INSTAGRAM
Lupita Nyong’o revealed that she is in a relationship in a really chic pair announcement.
The Black Panther actor and Oscar winner shocked the Internet yesterday when she and her partner Selema Masekela made Instagram official. For the surprise release, the pair shared a video of themselves shifting into numerous synchronized red-carpet ensembles while snapping their fingers side by side to the beat of “The King’s Affirmation” by Iniko and Reuel Williams.
The two begin in matching blue and white robes with fluffy slippers before changing into various outfits as they clap their hands to the music, such as matching purple swimsuits with cheetah prints, a strapless pineapple-motif gown and bright yellow suit, and an orange-motif tutu dress with an orange-and-black tuxedo. Masekela and Nyong’o quickly break into some dancing to end the clip after revealing their final looks, which were a black suit and orange shirt for Masekela and an orange sequined dress with Camellia flower decoration for Nyong’o.
“We just click! 💘 @selema #thisismylove #nuffsaid,” Nyong’o captioned the clip, while Masekela tagged her in his post, writing, “Hearts are synched. My whole and actual love.”
Although the couple has both kept their romance off the web, there are some adorable hints of their lengthy courting. Here, we summarize what we know about the actress’s spouse.
He is both a musician and a sports commentator.
Growing up in Los Angeles, the TV personality and actor had an early interest in skating, snowboarding, and surfing. For events like the FIFA World Cup, the Winter Olympics, and ESPN’s Summer and Winter X Games, he has served as a television analyst and sports writer.
Masekela performs with the band Alekesam as a musician. Hugh Masekela, the anti-apartheid campaigner and “founder of South African jazz,” inspired him to love music. When the jazz great returned to the nation after thirty years in exile, he traveled the world as a child with his father.
He is the owner of a surf-related lifestyle company.
The multi-hyphenate began working for South African surf and lifestyle label Mami Wata in 2018, but subsequently departed to launch his own company, also called Alekesam. He stated that he wanted to “redefine what surf culture looks like” in an interview with W.
“The idea of building a bridge between the West and the African continent has always been on my mind,” he told the outlet. “It’s my hope that this brand and narrative can help create curiosity and expand what the idea of surf culture looks like globally.”
They connected in 2016 via a flight (and Masekela tweeted about it).
Although they haven’t officially said how long they’ve been dating, Internet sleuths discovered that they first appeared together in 2016. In a sweet turn of events, Masekela sat behind his future girlfriend on a flight and tweeted throughout it as he prepared to speak to her.
“Hypothetically speaking of course…let’s say you’re seated behind Lupita Nyong’o on an airplane, what would be your opening line,” he wrote at the time, adding a couple of minutes later, “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.”
Prior to this, Nyong’o had kept her dating life discreet.
The Black Panther co-star Michael B. Jordan and Jared Leto have both been connected to the Us actress over the years, but she has kept her love life a secret throughout her career. In an interview with a publication in 2019, she discussed keeping her personal and professional lives separate, stating that “privacy is a commodity that is hard to come by.”
“Filming is so time-consuming. And intense,” she added. “With Black Panther, a lot of us were single. On Little Monsters, nobody was single. 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.”
