Fans of Kenyan Hollywood actress Lupita Nyong’o have rallied behind her after she revealed her break-up from US-based TV host Selema Masekela.
Nyong’o opened up on Instagram, saying she wanted to share “a personal truth”.
“I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception,” she wrote, without naming anyone.
Masekela has not said anything and has turned off his Instagram comments.
Nyong’o, an A-list Hollywood actress who made history in 2014 as the first Kenyan to win an Oscar and the second African to do so after South African actress Charlize Theron, made public her relationship with Masekela in December last year.
“We just click!” Nyong’o captioned the video introducing their relationship, which she has since deleted.
Selema, the son of South African jazz legend Hugh Masekela, also gushed about Nyong’o in a separate post.
“Hearts are synched. My whole and actual love Lupita Nyongo,” he said.
In her break-up post, Nyong’o said she wanted to “publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust” and that her love was “extinguished by deception”.
The news of the split has surprised many of the couple’s fans, who saw the announcement of their relationship as a heart-warming moment that came years after Masekela had asked his fans for advice on how to strike up a conversation with the Black Panther star.
“Hypothetically speaking of course, let’s say you are seated behind Lupita Nyong’o on an airplane. What would be your opening line?” Masekela posted on X in 2016.
Nyong’o’s fans and some of her celebrity friends have posted thousands of comments in support of the star, who has built a large fanbase over the years with her captivating performances in Hollywood hits like Us and Black Panther.
“We lift you up with love and sisterhood. Your miracles are all around you. Let us count them in confidence and faith,” said Oscar-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay.
Many fans have also hailed Nyong’o for her “bravery” and willingness to openly share a private and sensitive issue with the world.
Nyong’o said in her post that she hoped “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”.