Nia Long Moves On With Power Look After “Rocky” Split from Ime Udoka
Nia Long has officially entered her soft-power era — and she’s not looking back.
The 53-year-old actress stepped onto the stage at the inaugural New York Times Well Festival in Brooklyn this week looking strong, sharp, and unapologetically self-assured. Dressed in crisp white wide-leg trousers and a classic gray button-up shirt, the Best Man star radiated the kind of elegance only earned through lived experience.
It was a quiet but powerful moment — especially given how publicly Long’s last year has unfolded.
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“The Relationship Was Rocky for a Very Long Time”
In a candid sit-down with Jeezy, Long reflected on her 2022 breakup with longtime fiancé Ime Udoka, calling it a long-overdue “wake-up call.”
“The relationship had been rocky for a very long time,” she said. “I don’t believe another person can break anyone up… I just don’t buy that.”
Udoka, now coaching the Houston Rockets, was suspended from the Boston Celtics after allegedly having an affair with a colleague. Long, who shares 11-year-old Kez with him, had tried — for a while — to hold things together.
“My older son saw me trying to keep the family together,” she admitted. “But I had to come to a place where loving myself was more important than saving anyone.”
Honestly, you could feel the weight of that.
“It Had Nothing to Do With Me”
Despite the tabloid firestorm, Long made it clear: she wasn't ashamed.
“I was not embarrassed,” she said. “The way Black women stood up for me… I didn’t realise what I had done in my career had so much impact.”
She also dismissed the idea that infidelity explained it all.
“It’s usually not about another person, an affair, or some chick who makes you feel like a king. That’s why most men cheat. It’s so gross. It’s so stupid.”
Today, Long and Udoka are entangled in a custody battle over Kez — she’s requesting full custody; he wants shared legal and physical rights.
Grace Under Pressure at NYT’s Wellness Stage
On stage in Brooklyn, Long didn’t have to say a word. Her look — wide-leg trousers, soft sleeves, minimal gold jewelry — said everything.
She stood alongside Tracee Ellis Ross, who wore a sculptural suit and sash, and Paulina Porizkova, who popped in a flowing red dress. But Long? She had a stillness that read like resolve.
“There’s an expiration date on everything,” she told Jeezy. “You gotta know when to be done.”
She had went through enough already. And she’s walking through the other side — in heels, no less.
