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Nia Long and Ime Udoka Split After 13 Years Together Following NBA Coach's Alleged Affair

Nia Long and Ime Udoka Split After 13 Years Together Following NBA Coach's Alleged Affair

After months of speculation regarding their relationship, Nia Long and Ime Udoka have called it quits.

The 51-year-old actress and 45-year-old NBA coach have ended their 13-year romance, Long's rep confirms to ET. The news comes after Udoka allegedly had an affair with a female co-worker within the Boston Celtics organization. Udoka was suspended as head coach of the professional basketball team after the alleged relationship came to light.

Long's rep tells People, who was first to report the news, that the two are "no longer together but remain fully committed to co-parenting their son."

The actress began dating Udoka in 2009 and the couple got engaged in 2015. They share a 10-year-old son, Kez, as well as Long's 21-year-old son, Massai, from a previous relationship.

The breakup news comes just a few days after Long addressed Udoka's scandal in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter

The actress told the trade publication that for the first time in her 36-year career, she recently walked off a set in the middle of production. She explained that the project "didn’t feel good in my belly," and "there was also this sense that the business I have to deal with at home is more important to me than teaching a white director-producer how to tell a Black story."

"I went home to be with my son, and that was what was most important to me, because he was not having an easy time," Long said. 

"I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son's face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public," she added of the Celtics' decision to call a press conference to address Udoka's suspension. Long told THR that she took her son out of school when the news broke, saying that it was "devastating, and it still is."

"He still has moments where it's not easy for him," Long continued. "If you're in the business of protecting women -- I'm sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I'm OK, to see if my children are OK. It's very disappointing."

After Udoka broke his own silence on the situation in a statement shared by ESPN's NBA Today host Malika Andrews, Long publicly addressed the wave of support she'd received in wake of the news.

"The outpouring of love and support from family, friends and the community during this difficult time means so much to me," the actress said in a statement issued to ET. "I ask that my privacy be respected as I process the recent events. Above all, I am a mother and will continue to focus on my children." 

ET has reached out to Long and Udoka's reps for comment on their reported breakup.

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