Nia Long and Ime Udoka have finally called it quits. It has been a long few months for the pair, who have been engaged for over a decade and share one child. The circumstances surrounding their split have been very public, with Ime getting in trouble and sending their family into a spiral of embarrassment and tabloid fodder. While long has been hinting at going their separate ways, we finally have our confirmation today via an inside source that was confirmed by Nia’s camp.
Nia Long and Ime Udoka met in Boston back in 2010 while both there for work. They began dating and eventually welcomed their only child together, Kez Sunday Udoka, a year later. By 2015, they were engaged to be married. Nia once said that their busy schedules kept things fun and interesting for them. Nia is a busy actress, while Ime bounces around from state to state as he coaches different teams. “We both have beautiful careers,” Long said after Udoka nabbed the head coaching position in Boston for the Celtics. “The thing that I think makes it work for us is we give each other the space and time to do what we have to do individually, as well as together.”
Nia spoke earlier this year about being ok not rushing to get married. She opened up about how she felt married couples did not always last and that she did not feel like she needed a wedding to validate their union. While discussing getting married during a podcast, she simply stated that it was not “where they are as a family” and that their long engagement was intentional. “I worked hard to have the career I wanted, but I’ve also been deliberate about my personal life,” Long said. “None of this is a mistake.”
It is unclear if this was alluding to the upcoming trouble they would have, but less than a year after that discussion, Ime was out of a job. It was revealed that he had been having an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer on the Celtics team. Kathleen Nimmo Lynch was revealed as the woman he had been with. She is reportedly a married mother of three and a practicing Mormon. According to The Dailymail, “She served as a team liaison arranging travel, lodging and game tickets for Celtics family members at home and on the road, and is likely to have arranged travel for Udoka’s fiancée, actress Nia Long.”
Ime was suspended for the remainder of the season, with people speculating he would not be back at all. Meanwhile, Long was seen back in Los Angeles without her ring after relocating to Boston. Long threw herself back into work, posting photos from set and jumping right into promoting for The Best Man television series. She also made some one-off posts that seemed to address the drama indirectly, speaking about protecting her peace, celebrating women for their support, and showing off her kids. Long released one statement about the whole ordeal, explaining that she just wanted to focus on her kids. She has an older child as well, Massai Zhivago Dorsey II, from a previous marriage.
Long seemed to be hinting at a big announcement in recent weeks. She did a post-and-delete of an empty living space, alluding to her having a new home. Long also spoke to the Hollywood Reporter about how the Boston Celtics worked so hard to protect Kathleen but had no regard for her or her son. Long said she had to take Kez out of school because of how much the headlines impacted him. “I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public.” She also discussed how 2022 has been a year of endings for her and spoke about wrapping up the Best Man franchise, while many thought she was talking about ending things with Ime.
Today we finally have confirmation that Long and Ime have gone their separate ways. Her rep confirmed a People magazine article solidifying their split and once again reiterated Nia’s desire to focus on her children and co-parenting with Ime. Fans seemed happy that Nia is setting herself free and commented, “Damn, sometimes the term ‘fumbling the bag’ doesn’t always mean money. Sorry to this man, he lost Hollywood finest.”
Wishing Nia Long and Ime Udoka both the best as they go their separate ways. Ime Udoka has yet to discuss his infidelities or the split.
