Nia Long reveals she’s in a ‘good place’ with ex Ime Udoka 3 years after public scandal

Nia Long and Ime Udoka ended things in 2022 amid the former Boston Celtics coach’s public cheating scandal with a female staffer.

Nia Long is in a “good” place with her ex, Ime Udoka, three years after his workplace affair became a public scandal.

The 54-year-old actress opens up about where things stand with the 48-year-old NBA coach and how they co-parent their son together as the October/November cover star of The Cut. 

“The most important gift you can give your kids is to heal your trauma,” she told the publication. 

“I don’t talk much about my personal life ’cause it’s no one’s business, but every now and then people speculate things on social media and it’s like, me and Coach are good,” she continued. “I hope he wins. He deserves to win. He’s really great at what he does. We can have experiences with our son and make him the priority.”

She and Udoka did just that this summer. She revealed the former couple traveled with the son they share and “had a great time.”  

She added, “It was really beautiful because we’ve had a very public journey that has found its way to peace and understanding. And there’s a lot of mutual respect that we have for each other.”

Long and Udoka split in 2022 after over a decade together, when news emerged that Udoka, then head coach of the NBA’s Boston Celtics, had a consensual, but improper, workplace affair with a female staffer. Udoka was suspended amid the affair before he was eventually let go. He is currently the coach of the Houston Rockets. 

The former couple, who began dating in 2010, welcomed their son Kez in 2011 before getting engaged in 2015 (though they never married). Their breakup triggered contentious legal battles over custody and support, which were ultimately settled in early 2024 with Long gaining primary custody and Udoka agreeing to pay roughly $32,500 a month in child support.

While she said “there’s still healing to be done and understanding to be had,” she told The Cut, “the past is the past.”

“I’m not going to carry burdensome energy with me because that just transfers to my children and it transfers to everything else in my life,” she continued. “I’m proud of myself. I think we’re proud of each other as the parents of Kez, that we’re able to make this an annual thing and commit to these last sweet years of him being in grade school and high school before he goes off to college. We’re both going to be standing there watching him graduate.”