Nia Long & Ime Udoka at BET's 2017 American Black Film Festival Honors Awards

Nia Long Shares Cryptic Post On 'Revenge' After Split From Longtime Boyfriend Ime Udoka

Home / Stars / Nia Long Shares Cryptic Post On 'Revenge' After Split From Longtime Boyfriend Ime Udoka

By Favour Adegoke on May 1, 2023 at 2:00 PM EDT

According to her recent Instagram post, Nia Long is moving on with her life and not holding any grudges. Her Instagram post comes after her ex, Ime Udoka, was revealed as Head Coach of the Houston Rockets.

Last year, he was terminated as Coach by the Bolton Celtics after his affair scandal with a female staff member. The Nets were meant to hire Udoka as their new head coach but chose Jacque Vaughn after the scandal.

The controversy also caused Long to end their relationship after spending 12 years together. During the height of the scandal, the actress criticized the Celtics for how they publicized the affair and firing. 

Read on to find out more.

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Nia Long Talks 'Revenge' 

Nia Long Shares Cryptic Post On The 'Best Revenge' After Splitting From Longtime Boyfriend Ime Udoka
Instagram/nialong

Nia Long is choosing to protect her peace after ex-fiancé Ime Udoka's cheating scandal last year. On Saturday, Long posted an Instagram quote, "The best revenge is no revenge, Move on. Be happy."

The "Best Man" actress's post was well received by several celebrities, who shared comments of support and praise. Talk show host Robinson Peete commented, "Yes, Sis! Revenge continues the toxicity." 

Former "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Tanya Sam wrote, "Amen. Bitter or better." A fan commented, "Always stay gracious; best revenge is your paper. I'm working on that."

Her cryptic message is seemingly tied to her highly publicized split from her fiancé, Ime Udoka.

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Ime Udoka Appointed Head Coach Of A New Team

Nia Long and Ime Udoka at the BET's 2017 American Black Film Festival Honors Awards
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Long's post about not seeking revenge comes after the Houston Rockets announced Udoka as their new head coach. Udoka got the job after he was fired from the Boston Celtics last year due to an affair scandal with a female staff member.

The team announced that he'd violated the company's code of conduct and first suspended him before eventually terminating his role. Subsequent reports about the scandal stated that Udoka also made negative and unwelcome comments to the woman he had an affair with.

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When the scandal went public, Udoka released a statement apologizing for his actions. He wrote, "I want to apologize to our players, fans, the entire Celtics organization, and my family for letting them down. I am sorry for putting the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team's decision. Out of respect for everyone involved, I will have no further comment."

There were also rumors that The Nets wanted to hire Udoka as their new head coach after they fired Steve Nash at the beginning of the season. However, the scandal forced them to reconsider and go with Jacque Vaughn.

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Ime Udoka And Nia Long Split Over The Controversy

Nia Long
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Shortly after Udoka's affair went public, a rep for Long confirmed in a statement to People magazine that the actress had ended their more than 12-year relationship. The source said, "The situation is unfortunate and painful, but Nia is focusing on her children and rebuilding her life."

Long and Udoka started their relationship in 2010 and announced their engagement in 2015, but never married. About a week before their breakup went public, Long talked with The Hollywood Reporter about the cheating scandal.

She said, "I felt like my heart had jumped out of my body." Long and Udoka have one son, Kez, and the "Best Man" actress had a previous son, Massai, whom she shares with ex-boyfriend and actor Massai Dorsey.

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Nia Long Criticizes The Celtics For The Scandal

Nia Long at the Celebration of Black Cinema
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The "You People" actress also discussed the effect of Long's cheating and the resulting scandal on 11-year-old Kez. She said he was devastated and "still has moments where it's not easy for him."

Long also said, "I think the most heartbreaking thing about all this was seeing my son's face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public." The team didn't respond to the actress's claims that they could have been more discrete.

However, Celtics owner Wys Grousbeck spoke about the decision to suspend Udoka for a whole season. He said, per Fox News, "This felt right, but there are no clear guidelines for any of this. I took a lot of advice from partners like [president of basketball operations] Brad [Stevens] and others. We collectively came to this and got there, but it was unclear what to do."

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