Lupita Nyong’o couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as she enjoyed a day out with her mother and a friend in Santa Monica, California, on Monday, following her emotional split from boyfriend Selema Masekala.
The actress, 40, looked stunning in a long black dress with floral detailing, a cream coat, which she carried, and round-rimmed sunglasses.
The Black Panther star shared a laugh with her friend before joining her mother Dorothy and heading to the Oceana Hotel for a meal and a catch-up.
The much-needed girls’ trip comes after Lupita announced she had split from Selema, 52, a television presenter and host, via Instagram last week.
In a series of posts on her Story, Lupita revealed that Selema was someone that she could ‘no longer trust’.
Doing fine: Lupita Nyong’o glowed on a day out with her mum and a friend on Monday in California following her emotional split from boyfriend Selema Masekala
Stunning: The actress, 40, looked stunning in a long, gown-like black dress with floral detailing, a cream coat, which she carried, and round-rimmed sunglasses
Girl power: She shared a laugh with her friend before joining her mother Dorothy, (left) and heading to Santa Monica’s Oceana hotel for a meal and a catch-up
Lupita went on to say that she was tempted to hide away but has decided to face her pain head on, ‘trusting that this too shall pass’.
The Black Panther star also admitted that the news may appear trivial, given what is currently going on in the world, but she still felt it was necessary to share.
She wrote: ‘There are much more important things going on in the world right now, and my thoughts are with those who are deeply suffering.
‘At this moment, it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust…
‘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.”
‘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.
‘The promise, they say, is that a tender heart is what gives birth to fearlessness. I hope it’s true… I share this to keep it, and hoping that the knowledge of my experience might be useful to someone else out there experiencing the grip of heartbreak who is poised to try and escape from the pain and miss out on the wisdom that comes from it. #Breakup
‘Let’s face our pain so we don’t spread it.’
Despite clearly feeling hurt, in each public appearance Lupita has made since, she has appeared to be in good spirits.
The day before the posts, but undoubtedly after the split, she was spotted cosying up to Joshua Jackson at Janelle Monae’s concert in Los Angeles.
Joshua has recently gone through a public split himself. His wife Jodie Turner-Smith filed for divorce from him earlier this month.
Lupita and Selema first went public with their relationship in December 2022.
At the time, Lupita posted a video of the couple in various outfits to her Instagram and captioned it: ‘We just click! @selema #thisismylove #nuffsaid.’
Fun night: Newly single Joshua Jackson put on a cosy display with actress Lupita Nyong’o at Janelle Monae’s LA concert – one month after his shock split from wife Jodie Turner-Smith
Emotional: On Thursday, the Black Panther star took to Instagram to wax lyrical about a ‘break-up’ and reveal she was in a ‘season of heartbreak’ due to ‘deception’ by her unnamed loved one