Lena Waithe is making rare comments about her brief marriage to Alana Mayo.
The 42-year-old creator of The Chi recently visited Dax Shepard‘s Armchair Expert podcast for an episode published on Monday (June 1), where she talked about her relationship with the film executive, also 42.
Lena and Alana started dating in 2014 and got engaged in 2017. They married in November 2019. Two months later, in January 2020, they announced their separation, with Alana filing for divorce in November 2020. It was finalized in May 2021.
During the podcast, Lena explained their decision to breakup was because she wasn’t as happy as she thought she would be, but thought, “This is what I’m supposed to be doing.”
She continued, “I just didn’t have the language or understanding of that,” adding that it felt as if her “happiness didn’t feel like it was important.”
Eventually, she and Alana realized they “wanted different things,” particularly when it came to having children.
“That’s a pretty big life change. And so, at that time, I just kept putting it off. And so, that wasn’t me lying. It was me still trying to understand what I wanted and who I wanted to be. And I think that’s why, for me, it’s really important having this perspective stepping back.”
“All I knew was, ‘I want to be with this person. I want to have this house. I want to have this dog. I want to have this mural.’ But then I didn’t ask myself, ‘But where do you want to be in five years, really?’” Lena explained.
The Master of None writer also reflected on the end of her marriage, calling it a “car crash” that she did not handle especially well, she explained, “I just sort of like, was driving the car too fast, not knowing the gear, and just sort of going. I wish I could have landed the plane better.”
“Ultimately, and again, it’s about giving yourself grace and kind of looking back at it and go ‘Oh, you could have handled that much better.’ ‘You could have dealt with that in a different way,’ ” she said, before explaining she knows they’re both where they need to be after parting ways.
“I don’t have any ill will toward anyone,” she said, adding, “[The] ill will is toward myself.”
Lena revealed she was dating Cynthia Erivo in May 2022 and the couple are reportedly still together.
The final season of The Chi is now airing on Paramount+. Find out more details and watch the trailer here!
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