Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o has revealed she is single and enjoying her time with her rescue cat, Yoyo. Following her recent split from Joshua Jackson, Nyong’o shared her thoughts on love, heartbreak, and healing in a candid interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK.
“I’m very much single and loving my time with Yoyo,” Nyong’o said, referring to the cat she adopted after her breakup with sports commentator Selema Masekela. The actress, 41, added, “My love for my cat is singular. If I’m ever so lucky to be in a romantic relationship again, it’ll be because of him.”
Lupita Nyong’o Moving Forward After Heartbreak
Nyong’o made headlines in late 2023 when she publicly announced her breakup with Masekela on Instagram. “It is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust,” she wrote at the time. “I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception.”
Shortly after that announcement, Nyong’o and actor Joshua Jackson were romantically linked, just as Jackson was going through his own divorce from actress Jodie Turner-Smith. While their relationship seemed promising, with rumors of a vacation in Mexico earlier this year, the pair have now gone their separate ways. “It’s hard enough to go through heartbreak privately,” Nyong’o shared. “When the world has an image of you in relation to someone else, it prolongs the healing process.”
Interestingly, Nyong’o’s new companion, Yoyo, has played a major role in her healing process. “I was ready to shut that door and lock it and bolt it. He has ensured that my heart remains open,” she said, explaining how her ginger cat helped her move forward. Amusingly, the actress admitted that she used to be terrified of cats until she had to face her fear while filming A Quiet Place: Day One.
For now, Nyong’o is happy keeping her romantic life private and focusing on herself and Yoyo. “My family can’t get over it,” she joked. “My sisters are so disturbed every time I send them a picture of Yoyo. They’re like, ‘Oh, my God, our sister has been stolen.’”