Source: Bruce Glikas / Contributor / Getty
Nia Long has been spotted wearing an enormous diamond ring on the fourth finger of her left hand. Spotted by NecoleBitchie and confirmed by E! News, Nia said yes to her her long-term boyfriend and baby daddy, Ime Udoka. Nia has been dating the 37-year-old former NBA player turned assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs since 2010. They have a 3-year-old son together named Kez.
As the reigning and undefeated “badass-ageless-good-black-don’t-crack-I-still-got-it-girl” of the 90’s, Nia has never been married much to the dismay of her legions of fans and followers. Female fans took to Twitter to collectively exhale and share their support, while men, whom never ever had a chance in hell of getting with Nia Long acknowledged that she was “officially off-the-market.”
The 44 year-old actress has openly discussed her philosophies on romance encouraging Black women to not let their relationship status define them or be limited in their options. She told HelloBeautiful in 2013, “I think it’s very realistic for women of color in the professional world to meet all different types of men.” So ladies, there you have it! If you are one of the most beautiful movie stars on the planet and you wait patiently until your mid-40’s, you too can marry a Nigerian NBA Star and live happily ever after! Fairytales do come true!
With all seriousness, we’re super excited for the happy couple and with them a world of happiness. We’d just like to take this time to caution against the hallelujah chorus and ongoing narrative of marriage as the ultimate and sole definition of fulfillment in life. While it is indeed lovely that Nia and her man have decided to tie-the-knot, they have been happily involved for over five years and already have a beautiful son together. What if they never chose to marry but stayed together in a long term relationship? Would we still be hoping for Udoka to put a ring on it? With over half of all marriages ending up in divorce, it is about time we start accepting that a the new modern romance paradigm may have nothing to do with diamond rings and weddings. It’s going to be a bit difficult to shift the narrative around shifting marital norms if we’re still acting like getting that diamond is a equivalent to winning the lifelong lottery.
Stepping off soapbox. We Love You Nia! Can’t wait to see what the dress looks like girl!
Nia Long Is Engaged! was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
