Who Is Lupita Nyong'o's Ex-Boyfriend? All About Selema Masekela

Lupita Nyong'o announced her split from Selema Masekela in October 2023

Lupita Nyong'o and Selema Masekela have called it quits.

The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actress announced their breakup on Instagram in October 2023.

"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."

Nyong'o and Masekela made their relationship Instagram official in December 2022. The Us star posted a reel of the couple doing "The King's Affirmation" challenge, which featured them in several coordinating, colorful ensembles.

Their romance ended shortly after Masekela's 52nd birthday, which Nyong'o acknowledged on Instagram.

"The Universe saw it fit to bring this Sunshine Human ?? into my orbit, and this day marks his introduction to life," she wrote in August 2023. "Every day is full of #goodenergy and reasons to dance with @selema as my favorite playmate."

From his famous father to his career, here's everything to know about Selema Masekela.

Related: Lupita Nyong'o Takes Relationship with Boyfriend Selema Masekela Public in Cute Instagram Video

His father is music legend Hugh Masekela

Born on Aug. 28, 1971, Masekela is the son of legendary South African jazz musician Hugh Masekela. Hugh was one of the most prominent musicians to leave South Africa as the country was under Apartheid. He left in 1960, when he was 21, and was exiled for 30 years.

He's had an illustrious career in media

According to IMDB, Masekela got his start working for Transworld Magazine (a skateboarding glossy now out of publication). He went on to host shows such as Ballbreakers on the Game Show Network and The Daily 10 on E!. He's also made appearances on shows such as Lingo and Tony Hawk Gigantic Skatepark Tours and has served as a correspondent for the summer Olympics on NBC. Masekela is currently the host of ESPN's X Games.

He's also a musician

Musical talent runs in his family: Masekela is in a band, Alekesam, whose songs have been featured on HBO's Entourage and Showtime's House of Lies.

Studio heads aren't the only ones giving his music the stamp of approval. In January 2023, Nyong'o's little brother, Junior, featured an Alekesam track titled "Old Love" in an Instagram reel.

He crossed paths with Nyong'o as early as 2016

Though the two didn't reveal when they started dating, Masekela admitted he was smitten by the actress in a 2016 tweet.

Apparently, the TV host was seated behind Nyong'o during a flight from Los Angeles and when he couldn't find the right opener to strike a conversation with her, he decided to crowdsource ideas on Twitter.

"Hypothetically speaking of course…Let's say you're seated behind Lupita Nyong'o on an airplane, what would be your opening line?" he tweeted.

Related: Lupita Nyong'o Documents the Intense Training She Underwent to Swim in 'Black Panther 2' — Watch!

Nyong'o announced their breakup on Instagram

In October 2023, Nyong'o announced her split from Masekela in a lengthy post on Instagram.

"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 wrote. "But I am reminded that the magnitude of the pain I am feeling is equal to the measure of my capacity for love."

She went on, "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. #Breakup."

During an interview with Glamour in June 2024, Nyong'o addressed her decision to share her breakup news on social media.

“Honestly, the thought of having to update people one at a time was going to be harrowing. I had made the choice to share the relationship with the world, and I wanted to make the choice to share the end of it with the world," she told the outlet.

He owns his own surfing brand

Masekela is also a multi-hyphenate. In addition to being a TV host and musician, the 51-year-old owns his own surfing brand also called Alekesam. And the venture is anchored in his African roots.

"Before I got on TV, I was working for surfing brands. As a young person, I aspired to get into the surf, snowboard and skateboard industry," he told W Magazine in 2022. "I was always curious about what a brand would look like in the surfing space that was specifically African. I started surfing in South Africa in the 1990s, when my father was able to go back after his 30 years of exile, and I very much fell in love with it."

Before branching out on his own, he got together with the Africa-based brand Mami Wata in 2018.

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