Lena Waithe’s wife Alana Mayo files for divorce following separation
Ten months after they announced their split, Mayo made it official with actress-writer-producer Waithe.
The wife of acclaimed actress-writer-producer Lena Waithe has filed for divorce 10 months after the couple announced their separation.
Waithe and Alana Mayo announced their split just two months after revealing their marriage.
Mayo filed a petition for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court late last week.
In January of this year, the couple released a joint statement announcing their legal separation.
“After careful thought and consideration, we have decided to part ways,” they wrote. “We have nothing but support for one another and ask that you respect our privacy during this time.”
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The two had been together for three years.
Their relationship had been marred by rumors of infidelity. Bossip reported in January that Waithe was seeing actress Cynthia Erivo.
In June, Waithe came forward to announce what she calls an “ongoing effort” to get funds directly into the hands of demonstrators seeking justice for George Floyd.
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“Our hearts are heavy, and our hurt has turned into frustration at the lack of compassion and fortitude to stand up for Black, queer and trans communities that have been marginalized for far too long,” her statement read.
The founder of Hillman Grad Productions, Waithe’s debut feature film screenplay, Queen & Slim, was celebrated upon its release last summer, and she also created Showtime’s The Chi and the BET shows Boomerang and Twenties. In 2017, she joined the annals of Hollywood history by winning an Emmy Award for writing for a comedy series, nabbed for the “Thanksgiving” episode of Aziz Ansari‘s Master of None. She was the first African American woman to win an Emmy for comedy writing for a primetime television show.
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Just last month, Waithe announced that she will produce a yet-untitled project based on the 1996 biography “Sammy Davis Jr.: My Father,” written by Davis’ daughter Tracey Davis and Dolores A. Barclay.
Movie industry vet Mayo, the current president of Orion Pictures, is the acclaimed former head of production and development for Michael B. Jordan’s studio, Outlier Society. She’s also served as vice president of production at Paramount Pictures.
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