“I feel like a whole weight was lifted off of me in a way.”
Nia Long is getting real about her love life.
While appearing on Friday’s episode of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” the actress shared her thoughts on dating, and revealed her current relationship status following her messy breakup from NBA coach Ime Udoka.
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“I’m so single,” said Long, 52, who split from Udoka last month after 13 years together.
“Are you looking for a relationship or are you happy as things are? Are you open to it?” Drew then asked, appearing to allude to Nia’s breakup.
“I’m still processing. I feel very free. I feel liberated. I feel like a whole weight was lifted off of me in a way,” the “You People” star said, to which Barrymore jokingly asked if Long felt like she lost “a couple hundred pounds in the form of a human.”
“It’s so good, like I’m wearing my old jeans again,” Nia quipped, before noting, “I’ll say that I gotta be careful who I stand next to on a red carpet because I’ve dated like five or six people that I don’t even know their middle f—ing name. I’m like, ‘How is this my boyfriend?’ ‘Wow this is very interesting. I don’t even know this guy’s middle name, and he’s my new man.'”
Barrymore and Long moved on to the topic of dating, with the latter revealing that she a secret crush.
“I have my eye on one person,” she teased, adding that she’s going to remain tight-lipped about the mystery man. “I’m not saying. I’m never telling.”
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Meanwhile, Drew pointed out that she finds it “fun to have crushes,” saying that she enjoys dating “very much.” In response, Nia admitted that she’s “so nervous” about dating, before then asking Barrymore if she’s “on the dating apps.”
Drew admitted that she’s a fan of the apps, telling “The Best Man” star that they do, in fact, “work.” The daytime talk show host jokingly added, “No one is talking to you in real life, everyone’s running home to the app. I don’t want to be rejected in public. I’ll just do it in private.”
Last month, news broke of Long and Udoka’s split. The former couple — who shares 11-year-old son Kez — called it quits just a few months after it was reported that Udoka had an affair with a female employee. As a result of the relationship, the coach was suspended for the 2022-23 season.
While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in December, Nia broke her silence on the scandal, calling the news “devastating.”
“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,” she said at the time.
The “Fatal Affair” actress and former NBA star started dating in 2010. The two welcomed son Kez the following year, and became engaged in 2015.
