Meet Black Panther Nakia Actress Lupita Nyong’o ‘s South African Boyfriend
Lupita Nyong’o plays Nakia, the lover of the late T’Challa in the Black Panther films, but in real life, you’ll probably never find out who her lover is.
Prior to confirming her relationship with her current boyfriend, Salema Masekela, the son of South African music legend Hugh Masekela, Lupita Nyong’o had hinted about the relationship.
She reportedly dated Keinan Abdi Warsame, more popularly known as rapper and poet K’naan, in September 2013 after meeting in New York. The two went public with their relationship in May 2014. They, however, separated privately in 2014 after a year of dating.
Recently, Lupita Nyong’o went Insta-official with her South African boyfriend, Salema Masekela. Masekela is an Emmy-nominated producer and hosted ESPN’s X Games for 13 years, along with NBC’s Red Bull Signature Series, commenting at the 2014 winter Olympics, among other accomplishments.
Masekela, who is known as Sal by close friends and acquaintances, is a surfer or snowboarder. Sal is not only a television host but has his own podcast, What Shapes Us. On his podcast, Salema Masekela talks to celebs and thought leaders about incidents, events and choices that have shaped who they are as human beings.
Masekela, who is a surfing enthusiast, has published a book, AFROSURF, which puts the long history of African surfing on full display. He grew up in New York City’s St. George area of Staten Island. Salema Masekela then moved to the West Coast, to California, with his mother and stepfather. It was then that he became known as Sal.
Earlier on in his career, Sal Masekela reverted to his full name Salema until an executive asked him to reconsider reverting it to just Sal to cater for audiences in the Midwest.
Salema Masekela and Lupita Nyong’o have a 12-year age difference. Sal was born on August 28, 1971, while Lupita was born on March 1 1983.
