Lena Waithe And Wife Alana Mayo Split Two Months After Announcing Their Marriage

Emmy winner Lena Waithe and her wife Alana Mayo are ending their marriage two months after they went public with their union.

E! News was the first to report that the Queen and Slim writer, 35 and Mayo, 34 have decided to split after several years together. The outlet reports that both women released a joint statement to announce the break up on Thursday, January 23.

“After careful thought and consideration, we have decided to part ways,” a joint statement from their reps read. “We have nothing but support for one another and ask that you respect our privacy during this time.”

Waithe announced back in November 2019 that she and Mayo decided to secretly get married during a trip to San Francisco. The Master of None actress confirmed to John Legend that she was a married woman during an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. While Waithe didn’t share when exactly the two actually got married, she did share details surrounding their big day. She also revealed that Mayo wanted to have a symbolic, intimate wedding with just the two of them.

“We didn’t make any announcements or a big… We went to San Francisco. We went to the courthouse,” Waithe explained at the time. “Got married right in front of [late gay rights activist and politician] Harvey Milk’s bust.”

Waithe and Mayo became engaged in 2017 after three years of dating. Waithe said the couple got engaged in Tokyo, though she didn’t receive a ring from her fiancée. Instead, Mayo gifted Waithe with an exclusive pair of sneakers, which she posted on her Instagram page.

While it’s unclear why their relationship ended, both Mayo and Waithe have hectic work schedules. Waithe recently premiered Queen and Slim back in November, which was her first feature film. She is also working on the third season of her Showtime series The Chi. As for Mayo, she is the head of Michael B. Jordan’s production company, Outlier Society.

Us Weekly reports that — just weeks before announcing their split — Waithe gave an update on how married life was treating her. She shared that married life was “interesting” and that she and Mayo were both “figuring things out.”

“It’s like one of those life things that you do, and you hope you get it right,” she shared of her marriage to Mayo.

This is the first marriage for both women. Mayo was Waithe’s first public relationship since she stepped on to the entertainment scene.