Lupita Nyong’o can’t wipe the smile off her face as she enjoys a day out with her mother and a friend in the wake of split from boyfriend Selema Masekala

Lupita Nyong’o couldn’t wipe the smile off her face on Monday as she enjoyed a day out with her mother and a friend in Santa Monica, California, following her emotional breakup with boyfriend Selema Masekala.

The actress, 40, looked stunning in a long black dress with floral details, a cream-colored coat she wore, and round-rim sunglasses.

She laughed with her friend before joining her mother Dorothy and heading to the Oceana Hotel for a meal and a chat.

The much-needed girls trip comes after Lupita announced via Instagram last week that she had split from Selema, 52, a television host and presenter.

In a series of posts on her Story, the Black Panther star revealed that Selema was someone she “could no longer trust.”

Stunning: The actress, 40, looked stunning in a long dress-like black dress with floral details, a cream coat she wore, and round-rim sunglasses

Girl power: She shared a laugh with her friend before joining her mother Dorothy (left) and heading to Santa Monica’s Oceana hotel for a meal and catch-up

Lupita went on to say that she was tempted to hide, but she decided to face her pain, “trusting that this too shall pass.”

She also admitted that the news may seem trivial considering what’s going on in the world right now, but she still felt it necessary to share it.

The actress wrote, “There are much more important things going on in the world right now, and my thoughts are with those who are suffering deeply.

‘At this time it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly distance myself from someone I can no longer trust…

“I am in a season of heartbreak over a love that is suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deceit.

“I’m tempted to run into the shadows and hide, only to return to the light when I regain enough strength to say, ‘Whatever, my life is better this way.’

“But I am reminded that the extent of the pain I feel is equal to the extent of my capacity for love. And so I choose to face the pain, cultivate the courage to see my life exactly as it is, and trust that this too shall pass.

“The promise, they say, is that a tender heart produces fearlessness. I hope it’s true…I’m sharing this to preserve it, and I hope that the knowledge of my experience can be helpful to someone else who is experiencing the grip of heartbreak and who is about to try to escape the to miss pain and the wisdom that it brings. comes from it. #To finish

“Let’s face our pain so we don’t spread it.”

Despite clearly feeling hurt, Lupita has seemed in good spirits at every public appearance since.

The day before the posts, but undoubtedly after the split, she was spotted getting cozy with Joshua Jackson at Janelle Monae’s concert in Los Angeles.

Joshua recently experienced a public split himself. His wife Jodie Turner-Smith filed for divorce from him earlier this month.

Lupita and Selema first made their relationship public in December 2022.

At the time, Lupita posted a video of the couple in different outfits to her Instagram and captioned it, “We’re just clicking! @selema #thisismylove #nuffsaid.”

Fun night: Newly single Joshua Jackson gave a cozy performance with actress Lupita Nyong’o at Janelle Monae’s LA concert – a month after his shock split from wife Jodie Turner-Smith

Emotional: On Thursday, the Black Panther star took to Instagram to wax lyrical about a ‘break-up’ and reveal she was in a ‘season of heartbreak’ due to ‘cheating’ by her unnamed lover