Lupita Nyong’o covers the latest issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK, mostly to promote The Wild Robot. Lupita confirms something in the cover interview, something I’ve suspected for months: that she’s been done with Joshua Jackson for a while. Lupita and Joshua started dating last fall, not long after Jodie Turner-Smith filed for divorce from Joshua. It screamed rebound for both of them, because Lupita was also getting over a devastating breakup from Selema Masekela. Lupita and Joshua were last seen together in the early spring of this year, and while she doesn’t give a timeline, it sounds like they’ve been done for a while. Some highlights from Bazaar, including Lupita’s newfound love of cats (she adopted her orange tomcat Yoyo last year and she’s obsessed with him).

Yoyo is her life partner: “My love for my cat is singular. If I’m ever so lucky to be in a romantic relationship again, it’ll be because of him. I was ready to shut that door and lock it and bolt it. He has ensured that my heart remains open.”

Her family can’t believe she’s a cat-lover now: After a bout of immersive therapy, where she was obliged to stroke the animals for hours at a time, Nyong’o hasn’t looked back. “My family can’t get over it. My sisters are so disturbed every time I send them a picture of Yoyo. They’re like, oh my God, our sister has been stolen.’”

Her split from Selema Masekela, who “betrayed” her: “You go through a lot of like, ‘Why? What were the signs? Why didn’t I see them? And if I did, why didn’t I act on them?’ Also, replaying moments and thinking, ‘Oh, I felt this apprehension, and I ignored it. Why did I ignore it?’ It can get toxic to beat yourself up about a past you can’t change, but it’s also an opportunity to learn about yourself.” She won’t be broadcasting so candidly again. “It’s hard enough to go through heartbreak privately. When the world has an image of you in relation to someone else, it prolongs the healing process because the memory is emblazoned in the public domain.”

Post-breakup, she moved to LA and adopted Yoyo. “I am in a transitional period. A lot of the things that have defined my life have faded away or changed. A big move like that involves seeking a new rhythm of life, a new community, a new lifestyle.”

On supermodel Alek Wek. “Her existence was radical for me. The very fact that she was a successful model, and that people were ascribing her to the word ‘beautiful’, was revolutionary. It was so confronting to me because I had been conditioned to reject my complexion. [Wek] was the turning point for me. I thought ‘oh, I have permission to value my complexion.’”

Homesick in Massachusetts. “Despite the fact that I had watched American television all my life, moving to Western Massachusetts was a shock. I found myself feeling very lonely and lost,” she remembers. One of her professors mentioned listening to the radio show This American Life: she followed suit, and found it a way to learn more about what it meant to be a citizen of the country. The idea stuck with her and this autumn she launched Mind Your Own, a podcast of stories from Africans around the world. The anecdotes are not, as she says, “the newsworthy stories that are usually calamitous and tragic and dark, but just about everyday people living their everyday lives and relating to that in such a way that we can have a better understanding of a global African identity.”

Her first time voting in an American election: While she was given a green card after winning her Academy Award, she has only recently become a citizen and is using her social media to encourage others to register. The night before our interview, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump met for the first time in a televised debate. “I’m feeling very energised by my choice,” says Nyong’o, who was watching. “I think [Kamala’s] really the only option. I’m floored by her ability to keep calm and steer the course. She was very dignified.” The actress has also poked fun at the concept of a “childless cat lady”, the phrase Trump’s running mate JD Vance used to describe some senior female Democrats. For Yoyo’s birthday Nyong’o posted photos of them both with the caption #ChildlessCatLady. Taylor Swift followed suit hours after the presidential debate with a picture of herself with her kitty Benjamin Button. “It’s a movement! I love it!” laughs Nyong’o. “The fact that what was meant as a slight has become a badge of honour. I love being a member of the childless cat ladies.”

[From Harper’s Bazaar UK]

As soon as she started making social media posts about voting, I knew that the “childless cat lady” jibe had resonated with her and that she, alongside so many women of all ages, wear that “insult” as a badge of honor. No zealot like a convert – Lupita has spent a year as a cat-lover and she’s all in on kitties. I’m so happy for her that she’s now a naturalized citizen and this is her first time voting! I love those kinds of stories. As for Lupita’s single status… Yoyo and Lupita are a package deal, and if Yoyo doesn’t like you, you’re gone. Cat-loving men are a must.

Cover courtesy of Bazaar UK, additional photos courtesy of Lupita’s IG.