Samira Wiley and Lauren Morelli announce split after 9 years of marriage 

The pair said that they were “amicably filing for divorce”

BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGES VIA INSTAGRAM (@WHODODATLIKEDAT)

Samira Wiley and Lauren Morelli are filing for divorce, as reported in Out Magazine yesterday (29 Jan). 

The pair met in 2012 during the production of Orange Is The New Black, where Samira was playing Poussey Washington and Lauren was working as a writer. They announced their engagement in 2016.

In a joint statement to Out, the pair wrote: “After nine years together we have decided to end our marriage, however, our lifelong commitment to co-parenting will forever remain.” 

They also reiterated that they were “amicably filing for divorce”. 

Lauren and Samira announced the birth of their daughter George Elizabeth in 2021. 

In an interview with Buzzfeed in 2024, Samira spoke about the importance of playing Poussey.  “I’ll never be the same because of Poussey being in my life. She’s also the reason I have a wife and a family, to be very honest. It’s something that actors dream of — to have a role like that, to be on a show as impactful as that.”

While Samira has been open about her sexuality in recent years, when she first starred on Orange Is The New Black she was not out. Samira revealed that she had been outed by a castmate on the WNYC Nancy podcast in 2018. Reflecting on this experience to Buzzfeed, Samira said: “When anyone is outed by someone else, it can mean so many different things, especially in certain parts of the country and within certain mindsets, it can literally mean danger.”

Since Orange Is The New Black, Samira has starred in the popular show The Handmaid’s Tale, which she won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2018. Lauren is currently working as an executive producer on the upcoming Netflix drama The Altruists. 

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