Lupita Nyong’o is in a relationship, and made the announcement with a very stylish couple reveal.
The Black Panther star and Oscar winner shook the Internet yesterday when she and her boyfriend Selema Masekela went Instagram official. For the surprise drop, the couple posted a reel that featured them transitioning into several coordinated red-carpet looks, while snapping their fingers side by side to the beat of "The King’s Affirmation" by Iniko and Reuel Williams.
The duo starts off in matching blue and white robes with fluffy slippers before switching into several outfits as they snap their fingers to the track, including matching purple cheetah-print swimsuits, a strapless pineapple-motif gown and bright yellow suit, and an orange-motif tutu dress with an orange-and-black tuxedo.
After showing the final look, comprised of an orange sequined dress with Camellia floral detailing for Nyong’o and a black suit and orange shirt for Masekela, the couple briefly break into some dancing to end the clip.
"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."
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While the pair have both kept their relationship private online, there are some sweet glimpses of their years-long courtship. Ahead, we break down everything we know about the actress’s partner.
He’s a sports commentator and musician.
The TV personality and actor grew up in Los Angeles and became interested in surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding when he was young. He has worked as a television commentator and a sports journalist for events including ESPN’s Summer and Winter X Games, the FIFA World Cup, and the Winter Olympics.
Masekela is also a musician, who performs with the band Alekesam. He got his love of music from his father, the anti-apartheid activist and father of South African jazz" Hugh Masekela. As a kid, he toured the world with his dad, and the pair visited the country together when the jazz legend returned after thirty years in exile.
He owns a surf lifestyle brand.
In 2018, the multi-hyphenate joined the South African surf and lifestyle label Mami Wata, and he later left to start his own brand, also named Alekesam. In a W interview, he said that his goal was to help "redefine what surf culture looks like."
"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."
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They met on a flight in 2016 (and Masekela tweeted about it).
Though the couple have not publicly commented on how long they’ve been dating, Internet sleuths found that they were first linked in 2016. In an adorable turn, Masekela sat behind his future girlfriend on a flight, and he tweeted through it while psyching himself up to talk 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."
Selema Masekela//Twitter
Nyong’o has previously kept her dating live private.
The Us actress has kept her dating life private throughout her career, shooting down various dating rumors over the years including ones where she was linked to Jared Leto and her Black Panther co-star Michael B. Jordan. She spoke about separating her personal life from her career in a 2019 interview, saying "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."
