Lupita Nyong’o shares what gets her through ‘heartache’

Lupita Nyong’o turns to friend Palmer Hefferan for support in the aftermath of her divorce from Selema Masekela.

“Recently, when my life was turned upside down by heartbreak, Palmer quickly came to my side to be by my side and help me through the most difficult days as I adjusted to my new reality,” Nyong’o, 40, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, November 2. “She made me delicious meals, she found me therapeutic activities to take my mind off things, she cried with me and made me laugh until I cried a more joyful tear.”

Nyong’o noted that her longtime friend “couldn’t get enough of serving me” and even helped her get her first pet, a cat named Yoyo. “Every time I look at him and cuddle with him, I am reminded of the selfless love that my sister from another gentleman showed me,” she added.

The pair met at drama school and found “kindred spirits” in each other after connecting over their love of being in the kitchen, Nyong’o continued, sharing that while “the beauty of the friendship is that it’s never about equalizing the score is possible’. she has “every intention of trying.”

Nyong’o announced last month that she and 52-year-old Masekela had split after less than a year of dating. “At this time it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly distance myself from someone I can no longer trust,” the actress wrote via Instagram at the time. “I am in a season of heartbreak over a love that is suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception.”

Nyong’o said she was “tempted to run into the shadows and hide” and return once she “regained” her strength, but ultimately decided to be honest about her feelings.

“I choose to face the pain, cultivate the courage to see my life exactly as it is, and trust that this too shall pass,” she continued. “The promise, they say, is that a tender heart produces fearlessness. I hope it’s true… I’m sharing this to preserve it 💯, and I hope the knowledge of my experience can be helpful to someone else who is experiencing the grip of heartbreak and who is on the verge of trying to escape missing out on the pain and wisdom that comes with it. #To finish.”

She later thanked fans for showing her support as she moves into the next chapter. “Thank you for all the kindness I received by sharing my love news,” she gushed in a now-expired Instagram Story. “The encouraging words mean more to me than I expected. They are a balm. … And it feels comforting to have a little corner online for the broken-hearted.”

Over the past month, Nyong’o has been spotted several times as she recovers from the emotional turmoil. A day before announcing her split, she was spotted spending time in a Janelle Monae concert Joshua Jackson. The Dawson’s Creek alum, 45, recently split from his estranged wife Jodie Turner Smithwhom he married in 2019.

Turner-Smith, 37, filed for divorce in October, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split. She is also seeking joint custody of their 3-year-old daughter.

Although the couple has yet to publicly discuss their breakup, a source exclusively shared We weekly last month that Jackson was “caught off guard” when the Queen & Slim star filed the divorce papers.

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“They had their issues, as many couples do, especially two busy actors who are also juggling a child. Joshua obviously didn’t realize it was that bad, that Jodie was so unhappy,” the insider explained. “Their friends are stunned and trying to understand how this came about.”

Meanwhile, another source said Us that Turner-Smith decided to end the relationship because “she refused to settle for something that didn’t feel right.”