Nia Long is asking a judge to grant her full custody of her 11-year-old son with Ime Udoka following his infidelity scandal.
via: Essence
The mom of two has filed for full custody of her son Kez whom she shares with former fiancé Ime Udoka. She also requested the newly appointed Houston Rockets basketball coach receive visitation rights. This is following the former NBA player’s cheating scandal in 2022.
The petition, which was filed by celebrity attorney Samantha Spector, is seeking to “determine a parental relationship” seeing as the former couple never officially wed despite being engaged for years. Long is also requesting Udoka cover all attorney fees.
For a quick recap, Udoka was suspended from coaching and eventually axed by the Celtics after having a consensual but improper relationship with a team staffer. The actress initially broke her silence by thanking fans for their love and support. Afterward, she opened up about how “devastating” the ordeal was for her and Kez.
“I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public,” Long said to The Hollywood Reporter. “It was devastating, and it still is. He still has moments where it’s not easy for him. If you’re in the business of protecting women—I’m sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m OK, to see if my children are OK. It’s very disappointing.”
“I’ve had some pretty devastating moments in my life over the last couple of months. And I’ve had just to say, ‘It’s all right. You’ll pick yourself back up and’ — oh my God. I’m about to cry,” she said as she fanned her face with her hands to stop herself from tearing up. “‘You’ll pick yourself back up and keep moving.’”
Udoka and the Best Man actress began dating in 2010 and gave birth to their only child together, Kez, in 2011. Long also has another son named Massai from a previous relationship with actor Massai Z. Dorsey.
Custody battles can get nasty, but we hope things go smoothly for the family and they can heal.
Long was never into marriage and has been public about that stance. In this case, maybe it’s ideal that they didn’t get formally married so the family doesn’t have to go through a complex divorce. We wish all parties well on this path forward.
