Lena Waithe Opens Up About Her Two-Month Marriage and What Led to the Split

Lena Waithe has offered candid reflections on her short-lived marriage to Alana Mayo during a recent appearance on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast.

The 42-year-old creator of The Chi sat down for an episode published Monday, June 1, to discuss her relationship with Mayo, also 42. The pair began dating in 2014 and got engaged three years later in 2017. They tied the knot in November 2019, but the marriage lasted just two months before they announced their separation in January 2020. Mayo filed for divorce that November, with the split finalized in May 2021.

During her podcast appearance, Waithe explored what contributed to the breakup, explaining that she hadn't achieved the happiness she'd anticipated. "I just didn't have the language or understanding of that," she said, noting that her own well-being didn't feel prioritized at the time.

The core issue, Waithe revealed, centered on diverging life visions. "We wanted different things," she explained, particularly regarding the question of parenthood. "That's a pretty big life change. And so, at that time, I just kept putting it off. And so, that wasn't me lying. It was me still trying to understand what I wanted and who I wanted to be."

Waithe reflected on how she'd focused on surface-level goals without considering her long-term trajectory. "All I knew was, 'I want to be with this person. I want to have this house. I want to have this dog. I want to have this mural.' But then I didn't ask myself, 'But where do you want to be in five years, really?'"

Looking back on the marriage's end, the Master of None writer characterized it as turbulent. "I just sort of like, was driving the car too fast, not knowing the gear, and just sort of going. I wish I could have landed the plane better," she said of how she navigated the dissolution.

She emphasized the value of retrospective compassion. "Ultimately, and again, it's about giving yourself grace and kind of looking back at it and go 'Oh, you could have handled that much better.' 'You could have dealt with that in a different way,'" Waithe noted, expressing confidence that both she and Mayo have found their proper places post-separation.

While Waithe expressed no animosity toward her ex, she acknowledged carrying self-directed frustration. "I don't have any ill will toward anyone. [The] ill will is toward myself," she said.

In May 2022, Waithe revealed she was in a relationship with Cynthia Erivo, and the couple reportedly remains together. The final season of The Chi is currently streaming on Paramount+.