Nia Long poses for Playboy, reveals relationship status after being dragged through NBA cheating scandal

Nia Long didn’t hold back while “getting sexy” for Playboy‘s Spring 2026 issue.

The actress, who tends to keep her personal life under wraps, explained that she’s a “big fan” of dating younger men and what she’s looking for in a partner — four years after her public split from former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, whose alleged affair with a female Boston team staff member was exposed in September 2022.

“I’m a big fan of this. I love it. Why not?” Long, 55, said of spending time with younger men, later adding that she is not on Raya, the exclusive, membership-based dating app used among celebrities.

“I can’t be on Raya because I wouldn’t even keep up. They’ll be like, ‘She’s flaky! Get her off of here!’

“I’m so picky. I’m really picky. I do like younger, though. I think there’s something fun about younger. And they also go home.”

When asked if she’s dating, Long said, “I can’t even answer that question. I probably shouldn’t answer that question.

“‘Am I ‘dating?’ I don’t like that word.”

Long explained that she doesn’t like the term “dating” because she’s not focused on looking for a partner right now.

“I feel like that requires me to go out and do something,” she said of dating. “I do think that if you’re looking for a partner, you have to be actively out there in order to meet. But I am not in that space right now.

“I’m really focused on my kids, my work, and my girlfriends, and going out and having a good time. … I like to get up and do what I want to do when I want to do it. It’s not that I don’t want to have a partner, but I was in a relationship for a very long time and I’m enjoying getting to know myself without feeling the need to be of service to a relationship. I want to be of service to myself, to my children, and to my career. And when the right man comes along [whom] I choose to commit to, then perhaps he will be of service to me. See, here’s the thing with me. When I date, I end up staying with that person.”

Long also said that she’s never had a “situationship” with someone.

“I need one.”

“… Also, here’s my biggest thing about dating. People talk too much. I need them to shut up. If we’re going to have a one-night stand, I almost feel like I need to have them sign NDAs.

“There are a lot of people that I would be down to have a little fun with! Not a lot, but some.”

The interview ends with Long saying, “I’m about to start dating. That’s how hot it’s about to get.”

Long, who was in a 13-year relationship with Udoka, has not publicly dated anyone since their tumultuous split.

In September 2022, Udoka, who is now the Rockets head coach, was suspended by the Celtics following a months-long investigation by an outside law firm, which found multiple violations of “team policies” — reportedly by having an improper relationship with a female team staff member.

The Celtics exposed the matter when they announced Udoka’s one-year suspension for the 2022-23 season as a result of the investigation.

Udoka and Long split shortly after the alleged affair became public, and continue to co-parent their 14-year-old son Kez.

Udoka was entering his second season as head coach in Boston after he led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in 2022, when they fell to the Warriors in six games. The suspension effectively turned into a firing when the Celtics revoved the interim tag from Joe Mazzulla and made him the permanent head coach in Feb. 2023. Houston hired Udoka as their head coach two months later.

“I love my co-parenting situation,” Long told Playboy. “We have the best: We go on holidays. We go on vacation. Sometimes we carve out space to go to dinner. We went to dinner the other night, and we had a really good time. And then it’s like, ‘OK, bye. Have fun. Talk to you later.’

“But there’s still a sense of community within that where I can call them if [our sons] need something or they can call me. There’s obviously boundaries there, but we can still be a family. We can still be proud of the legacy that we’re creating in our careers separately. And it works. We make it work. Really, I make it work. I’m not giving anyone else the credit.”

Long has a son, Massai Zhivago Dorsey II, with her ex-fiancé Massai Z. Dorsey, whom she gave birth to  in November 2000.