Nia Long says it’s difficult raising her youngest son without his father, Ime Udoka. The 52-year-old actress split from Udoka after he cheated on her with a Boston Celtics employee.
Udoka was suspended from his job as Celtics head coach for a year in 2022. Long packed her bags and relocated to the Los Angeles area with their 11-year-old son, Kez Udoka and her eldest son, Massai, 22.
In a sit-down interview with New York magazine’s The Cut, Long called her new life a “rebirth.” She and Udoka broke up after dating for 13 years.
The single mom admitted she is exhausted by the life change and assuming the roles of both parents to her youngest son.
“For the last 22 years, I’ve been pouring out. But at a certain point, you’re like, Woo, I’m looking a little tired,” she says. “Even if I can’t see it, I can feel it. So I try to pour into myself and let everyone know this is a ‘do not disturb’ period.”
Nia has been seeing Spencer Means, a real estate power broker based in Manhattan. Even though she’s dating again, Long struggles to raise her youngest son without his dad.
“My only focus right now is my youngest son ’cause he’s having a really tough time. I’m sure I have some things that I’m suppressing, but I have to do that to take care of him first. That’s the giving. It’s natural. I’m sure I’ll have to circle back with myself several times to reconcile things. But the one thing I’m trying not to harbor is anger.”
Long is disappointed with the Celtics organization for throwing her under the bus last year. She described the Celtics’ treachery as “a gut punch.”
“The Celtics made a choice to make my family business public, and I don’t understand why,” she told The Cut.
“It could’ve all been handled internally. I do understand why, but I can’t talk about it. Maybe one day I will. You know, fear drives stupidity, and I’ll leave that right there. I’ve learned that I’m stronger than I ever thought I was.”
Long has had “hard conversations” with her oldest son, Massai, pictured together with actor Samuel L. Jackson in January.
“We have an open-door policy about communication and hard conversations in our home. Sometimes, I embarrass him, I’m sure. I’m bossy.”
Massai tells his mother, “You just move at your pace.”
