Nia Long and Ime Udoka Break Up After 13 Years Together Following NBA Coach’s Alleged Affair
Nia Long and Ime Udoka are going their separate ways.
A source exclusively confirms to PEOPLE that Nia Long, 51, and Ime Udoka, 45, have ended their 13-year-relationship after the former Boston Celtics head coach allegedly had an affair with a female subordinate within the team’s organization.
“The situation is unfortunate and painful, but Nia is focusing on her children and rebuilding her life,” the source says.
A rep for Long also confirms the couple are “no longer together but remain fully committed to co-parenting their son [Kez].”
The couple’s split comes after the Boston Celtics held a press conference in September to address Udoka’s suspension.
“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,” Long told The Hollywood Reporter last week.
Shortly before the Celtics statement went live, ESPN reported that Udoka had a “role in an intimate relationship with a female member of the franchise’s staff.” PEOPLE later confirmed the allegations.
In September, just weeks before the start of the 2022-23 NBA season, the Boston Celtics issued a statement on Udoka’s immediate suspension from the team. At the time, they said Udoka had violated “team policies,” and noted his future with the team will be evaluated.
Udoka later gave a statement to ESPN’s Malika Andrews on the alleged relationship. “I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down,” he said. “I am sorry for putting the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team’s decision.”
His message concluded, “Out of respect for everyone involved, I will have no further comment.”
Nia Long and Ime Udoka had been engaged since 2015 and share one child together, 11-year-old son Kez.
The actress and the former head coach first met in February 2010 when Udoka was a professional basketball player with the Sacramento Kings. Long was in Boston filming a pilot for NBC, Udoka was playing against the Boston Celtics and a mutual friend set them up, according to the Boston Globe.
During their relationship, Long was adamant how “marriage is not a priority for me,” telling Essence in their August 2012 issue she had “never seen a marriage work” and that marriage didn’t define a successful relationship for her and Udoka.
Despite that, Udoka and Long got engaged in May 2015. Still, the pair had no plans to rush down the aisle, with Long telling a TMZ Sports reporter the following June that they were “taking our time” with wedding planning.
In June 2021, Udoka was named the head coach of the Boston Celtics after serving as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets.
Long had also been busy with her own career in Hollywood, which currently includes starring in Peacock’s limited series The Best Man: The Final Chapters, and the films Searching with Storm Reid and You People with Eddie Murphy, Jonah Hill and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
