Photo: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
Nia LongandIme Udoka’s longtime relationship has come to an end.
After welcoming a son together in November 2011, Long and Udoka became engaged in June 2015. The pair later returned to Boston once again in June 2021 — but this time, with Udoka as head coach of theBoston Celtics.
“We both have beautiful careers,” Long said after Udoka nabbed the head coaching position. “The thing that I think makes it work for us is we give each other the space and time to do what we have to do individually, as well as together.”
In September 2022, however, Udoka was suspended from his position, with the Celtics issuing a statement that said he had violated “team policies.” Shortly after,ESPNreported that Udoka had a “role in an intimate relationship with a female member of the franchise’s staff.” PEOPLE later confirmed the allegations.
Long issued a statement to PEOPLE soon after the news broke.
“The outpouring of love and support from family, friends and the community during this difficult time means so much to me,” she shared. “I ask that my privacy be respected as I process the recent events. Above all, I am a mother and will continue to focus on my children.”
On Dec. 6, 2022, a source exclusively confirmed to PEOPLE thatLong and Udoka had broken up. Long’s rep also confirmed that the couple are “no longer together but remain fully committed to co-parenting their son [Kez].”
Eight months later, Longfiled for full custodyof their son Kez.
Here’s everything to know about Nia Long and Ime Udoka’s relationship.
Nia Long and Ime Udoka.ROBYN BECK/AFP
Long and Udoka, then a professional basketball player with the Sacramento Kings, first met in Boston in February 2010, according to theBoston Globe. A mutual friend set them up when they were both in the city; Long was filming a pilot for NBC and Udoka was playing against the Boston Celtics.
June 17, 2011: Nia Long and Ime Udoka announce they’re expecting their first child together
Long and Udoka exclusively revealed to PEOPLE that they were expecting their first child together.
Long was already mom to son Massai from a previous relationship, while the new addition would be Udoka’s first child.
October 5, 2011: Nia Long says she “asked God” for her pregnancy with Udoka
A doctor’s visit originally left Long with little hope of having children with boyfriend Udoka, the actressrevealedin the November 2011 issue ofEBONY.
“I honestly asked God for this,” Long said of her pregnancy. “I remember I was driving home from the doctor, and I called Ime, and I was like, ‘Babe, I’m really kind of sad right now … the doctor actually said if I wanted to have more children, it would be hard.’ "
Despite the doctor’s news, the couple remained hopeful they would be able to expand their family.
“The next time [Ime] came to visit, he said, ‘I don’t believe that.’ I said, ‘You don’t?’ He said, ‘No.’ And I said, ‘Good, me neither,’ " she said to the magazine. “Then I got pregnant.”
November 7, 2011: Nia Long and Ime Udoka welcome a son
Nia Long and Ime Udoka.Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
“Both mother and child are healthy and happy to be home,” her rep said in a statement.
“You are not half the woman you’re gonna be until you turn 30. You’re not even half of that woman yet,” Long said toEBONYmagazine. “So I think if we’d just take our time as women, and do what comes natural to us and for us, we would make fewer mistakes.”
August 2012: Nia Long says “marriage is not a priority” for her and Ime Udoka
Longrevealedthat she and Udoka would not be heading down the aisle anytime soon in August 2012.
“Marriage is not a priority for me. I’m not saying I’ll never do it; It’s just not where we are as a family,” Long said in the August 2012 issue ofEssence.
The actress admitted she had “never seen a marriage work” — and that marriage didn’t define a successful relationship for her and Udoka. Instead, the two put their focus on life as a family of four.
“I don’t feel less loved or less loving because I’m not married,” she said.
“I worked hard to have the career I wanted, but I’ve also been deliberate about my personal life,” Long added. “None of this is a mistake.”
November 14, 2013: Nia Long says Ime Udoka’s NBA coaching career keeps their relationship “exciting”
Udoka’s job as an assistant for the San Antonio Spurs led to busy schedules and spending lots of time on the road — but it didn’t lead to relationship challenges for Udoka and Long.
“Going on the road and meeting up with Ime is the fun part,” Long said in an appearance on the Power 105.1Breakfast Clubradio show. “I feel like it keeps the relationship exciting. Also, it’s like a little mini vacation.”
Long also shared that Udoka didn’t let losses affect his mood post-game, either. “We were in Miami when they almost won the championship … and I was so scared to see him afterwards. I was like, ‘Oh my god, what do I say, I don’t even know what to say,’ " Long said. “And he’s fine. He’s easy. He’s been doing this a long time.”
April 2014: Nia Long talks balancing her career, motherhood and her relationship with Ime Udoka
Ime Udoka, Kez Udoka, Nia Long and Massai Dorsey II.Randy Shropshire/WireImage
While appearing on the cover of the April 2014 issue ofEssence, Long opened up about balancing her career and personal life. The actress was not only starring in Tyler Perry’sThe Single Moms Club, but was also busy raising her two young sons and being in a long-term relationship with Udoka.
“My mantra is, ‘You created this, you can handle it,’ " Long toldEssence.
She added that her busy schedule helps her treasure her time with her family that much more. “I think that if you’re committed to being a great mother, single or not, you’re going to enjoy every moment you have with your children,” she told the publication.
May 26, 2015: Ime Udoka and Nia Long confirm their engagement
After five years and one child together, Udoka and Longbecame engaged, a rep for the actress confirmed to PEOPLE.
TheBoyz in the Hoodactress was spotted wearing a sizable diamond ring on her left hand, sparking engagement rumors. Theengagement ringappeared to feature a large pear-shaped center stone set on a diamond band.
June 8, 2015: Nia Long says she and Ime Udoka are “taking their time” with wedding plans
“No, we don’t know yet,” Long answered while walking arm-in-arm with Udoka. “We are taking our time.”
Long also fielded questions over whether she was happy the San Antonio Spurs lost in the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs, since it meant more time together for her and her new fiancé.
“Absolutely,” she joked with the reporter. “Oh my god, no, I’m not happy because I always want my man to win. But it was nice to have him home.”
November 24, 2017: Nia Long says she’s “thankful” for fiancé Ime Udoka with a sweet Twitter post
On Thanksgiving Day in 2017, Long took time to share her gratitude for her partner of seven years. The actress posted a photo of the couple onher Twitter feedwith a message of thanks for her fiancé.
“Thankful for him. Together we learn, we love, we create. I hope all of you had a fantastic day of reflection and quality time with loved ones. #happythanksgivng ❤️,” Long wrote alongside a closeup photo of the pair.
June 3, 2019: Nia Long and Ime Udoka celebrate her son’s high school graduation with a family trip to Disneyland
When Long’s son graduated from high school in June 2019, the family of four celebrated the accomplishment with a trip to Disneyland.
Long shared photos from the trip onTwitter. In one, she, Udoka, Maasai and Kez posed in front of Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella’s Castle — with Kez representing his mom’s 1991 breakout acting role with aBoyz in the Hoodshirt.
“A family the plays together stays together. Thank you @disneyland for having us. Annual family tradition. @massaidorsey class of 2019 ❤️,” Long wrote alongside the photo.
“The weekend ended at the happiest place on earth. Thank you @disneyland @massaidorsey ❤️,” she captioned anotherfamily shot.
It wasn’t the first time the couple and their family had celebrated a momentous occasion at Disney:In July 2018, they took a family trip to Disney World for Long’s mother’s 70th birthday.
November 11, 2019: Nia Long and Ime Udoka celebrate their son’s 8th birthday with a sweet family photo
To celebrate Kez turning 8, Long and Udoka posed with the birthday boy and big brother Massai for a rare family photo — which Long shared onher Twitter account.
The photo showed the family of four ringing in Kez’s birthday with aStranger Things-themed party, complete with matching T-shirts and a cake.
“Birthday boy surprises with daddy and big brother @massaidorsey #family #love ❤️,” Long captioned the photo.
Another snap showed Kez, Long and Udoka posing in a photo booth frame prop that read “Kezzie’s 8th Birthday Party.”
“Sunday ❤️,” Long tweeted alongside the pic, a reference to Kez’s middle name.
December 6, 2020: Nia Long reveals she and fiancé Ime Udoka might never marry
Long revealed onEssence’s"Yes Girl” podcastthat the pair doesn’t have any concrete plans to tie the knot. As the actress put it, the couple, who have been together for over a decade, don’t need the labels of husband and wife to know that they’re “in a partnership that’s working,” Long said on the podcast episode.
“I understand the religious aspect of marriage. That is beautiful and it’s fantastical and it’s dreamy and it’s every girl’s fantasy to have that moment. But I don’t know that I need that,” the mother of two said.
Long added: “Love is complicated … and then you start a marriage, which I’ve never been married. And there’s a reason for that because I don’t know that I need to say ‘I do’ to prove to you that I love you. But also, what does marriage really [mean] … that you own me now and I own you? I don’t get that part.”
June 28, 2021: Nia Long congratulates Ime Udoka on becoming the Boston Celtics head coach
After serving as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets, Udoka was named the head coach of the Boston Celtics — and no one was prouder than his fiancée Long.
“Today you are officially the Head Coach of the Boston @celtics big love to the entire staff for the warm welcome,” Long wrote ina since-deleted post on Instagram. “I am beyond proud of this man. Expect great things because that’s what he does.”
October 25, 2021: Nia Long says she’ll “never forget the moment” fiancé Ime Udoka was named head coach of the Boston Celtics
In an interview withPopCulture.com, Long revealed what went down when Udoka got “the call” about the head coaching job with the Boston Celtics.
“I’ll never forget the moment,” Long said. “I was anxious. He’s always calm, like totally calm.”
When the call finally came in, Udoka “just smiled and shook his head in the yes position,” Long shared. “And I ran down the hall and jumped on him. And I think I almost, probably, broke his back,” she said of her reaction.
Despite the career move pulling the pair in two different directions — Udoka to Boston and Long to New York to filmThe Best Man Holiday— Long said she’d support her fiancé at his games every chance she got.
“I’ll try to be there as much as I can,” she said. “The most important thing for me is that we keep our family as together as we possibly can.”
May 30, 2022: Nia Long dances as Ime Udoka and the Boston Celtics head to the NBA Finals
Udoka and the Boston Celtics clinched a bid to the 2022 NBA Finals — and Long might have been their happiest fan.
After the Celtics beat the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Championship with a score of 100-96, Long posted a video to Twitter of hercelebratory dancing, complete with high kicks.
“Yes!!!” she captioned the video, which has since received 2.6 million views and counting.
In aseparate post, Long acknowledged how Udoka had made it to the NBA Finals in his first year as a head coach.
September 21, 2022: Ime Udoka faces a suspension from Celtics after alleged affair with staffer
News broke that Udoka wasfacing a possible suspensionfrom his Celtics head coach position after he allegedly had a consensual intimate relationship with a woman on the team’s staff, sources confirmed to PEOPLE.
According to ESPN, who first reported the news, the affair between Udoka and the staffer is considered a violation of team guidelines.
September 23, 2022: Nia Long speaks out after Ime Udoka’s alleged affair and suspension
Longissued a statementexclusively to PEOPLE after Udoka wassuspended from his roleas head coach of the Celtics for the 2022-2023 NBA season.
“The outpouring of love and support from family, friends and the community during this difficult time means so much to me,” the actress said. “I ask that my privacy be respected as I process the recent events. Above all, I am a mother and will continue to focus on my children.”
A day prior, Udokareacted to his suspensionwith a statement of his own, writing, “I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down.”
October 4, 2022: Nia Long posts about people who deserve “absolutely nothing” amid cheating scandal
Nearly two weeks after Udoka’s suspension was announced, Long seeminglyalluded to the cheating allegationson Instagram.
“A tip for mental health,“the post read. “Learn to distinguish who deserves an explanation, who deserves one answer, and who deserves absolutely nothing.” She captioned the photo with a simple red heart emoji.
A source told PEOPLE thatLong’s main focus is her 10-year-old son, Kez Sunday, whom she shares with Udoka.
“Her priority is making sure [Kez] is okay and staying on his normal routine,” the source added.
December 1, 2022: Nia Long slams the Celtics organization for their handling of Ime Udoka’s suspension and affair
In an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter,Long revealed that the Celtics havenot reached out to herprivately amid Udoka’s affair and suspension scandal, saying, “it’s very disappointing.”
“If you’re in the business of protecting women — I’m sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m OK, to see if my children are OK,” she explained.
Long added, “I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public.”
December 6, 2022: Nia Long and Ime Udoka split
A source confirmed to PEOPLE in December thatLong and Udoka had ended their relationshipfollowing the head coach’s alleged affair.
“The situation is unfortunate and painful, but Nia is focusing on her children and rebuilding her life,” the source shared.
Long’s rep also confirmed the couple’s split to PEOPLE and said both Long and Udoka “remain fully committed to co-parenting their son [Kez].”
April 24, 2023: Ime Udoka says he has “much more remorse” now regarding his cheating scandal
After being suspended as head coach of the Boston Celtics, Udoka was hired as head coach of the Houston Rockets. He spoke publicly about his affair during his first press conference with the Texas-based NBA team.
He continued: “I spent this last offseason working on myself in a lot of different ways, improving in areas, and it gave me a chance to sit back, reflect and grow. And I think that’ll make me a better coach and overall a better leader. The matter has been resolved.”
August 14, 2023: Nia Long files for full custody of son Kez
Long filed forlegal and physical custodyof Kez after claiming that Udoka “failed” to support the 11-year-old.
In the paperwork she filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the actress requested that Udoka have “reasonable visitation” that is “consistent with the child’s best interest.”
source: people.com
