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after the painful and public end of a relationship.
In a video released Tuesday to promote the Atlanta rapper’s new album,
I Might Forgive… But I Don’t Forget, Long spoke with Jeezy
—who opened up about his own
split from ex-wife Jeannie Mai—about splitting up with her former fiancé, NBA coach I
me Udoka, amid the revelation of his infidelity.
Long called the breakup “a wakeup call” for her, especially when it comes to parenting her and Udoka’s 11-year-old son, Kez, whom she
previously said Udoka’s affair had a “devastating” effect on. Long told Jeezy she suddenly realized, “‘You’re gonna do this on your own, and you’re gonna be fine!’”
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“I had to come to a place where loving myself was bigger and more important than saving anybody,” Long said.
“Somedays I’m, like, totally good, and then other days I’m like, ‘Ugh, God, this feels like so much work!” Long went on to say while fighting back tears. “Then, other days, it feels like women shouldn’t have to be this strong. I don’t
want to be this strong sometimes.”
But when she looks back at how it all felt in the moment, she says she “was not embarrassed,” and she didn’t need to be since the public, especially Black people, overwhelmingly showed support for her while she was going through heartache many can relate to.
“The way that Black people stood up for me, and the way that Black women were like ‘Oh no, you don’t do that to her”
—I was shocked,” Long said. “Because I didn’t realize that what I had done in my career has so much impact.”
Unfortunately, a lot of people go through devastating breakups and divorces but don’t have a support system around them to help see them through it mentally and emotionally. Long’s relationship ended publicly, and, fortunately, the public, especially Black people, understood the assignment. Black folks had her back and continue to.
See how social media’s reacting to the conversation below.
