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Lupita Nyong'o has confirmed her breakup with actor Joshua Jackson after dating for over a year. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar UK, Nyong'o spoke about the split, revealing that she is focusing on her relationship with her rescue cat, Yoyo, instead of jumping back into dating. "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," she said, adding, "I was ready to shut that door and lock it and bolt it. He has ensured that my heart remains open."
The romance between Nyong'o and Jackson began in October 2023, shortly after Jackson's divorce from actress Jodie Turner-Smith, with whom he shares a daughter, Juno. The couple was first seen together at a concert in Los Angeles, sparking rumors about their relationship. Despite their apparent happiness, which included a vacation in Mexico in early 2024, breakup rumors began circulating in September when Jackson was spotted with German model Nastassja Roberts.
Before dating Jackson, Nyong'o had experienced a tumultuous breakup with sports commentator Selema Masekela. Describing the end of that relationship, Nyong'o took to Instagram to express her heartbreak, saying, "I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception." She also acknowledged the emotional toll of the breakup, stating, "The magnitude of the pain I am feeling is equal to the measure of my capacity for love."
"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," she shared on Instagram. Reflecting on her decision to make her breakup public, she noted, "It's hard enough to go through heartbreak privately. When the world has an image of you in relation to someone else, it prolongs the healing process."
For now, Nyong'o is content spending time with Yoyo and keeping her personal life out of the spotlight. "My family can't get over it," she joked. "My sisters are so disturbed every time I send them a picture of Yoyo."
