Empire star Serayah has ended her engagement to rapper Joey Bada$$, citing “repeated infidelity” as the reason for their split. The 31-year-old actress, whose full name is Serayah Ranee McNeill, shared a statement on Monday, August 24, explaining her decision. “There comes a point in a woman’s life when choosing herself is no longer an option, it becomes necessary,” she wrote. “After much thought, I have made the difficult decision to end my engagement and relationship with the father of my child, Joey.”

Serayah and Joey Bada$$ (real name Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott) are parents to a son, who was born last year. Serayah continued, “I loved deeply, believed wholeheartedly in the life we were building, and wanted nothing more than to protect our family. Unfortunately, I also had to face a painful truth: there had been repeated infidelity throughout our relationship, including during some of the most vulnerable and meaningful moments of my life.”

She emphasized that her statement was “not for sympathy, retaliation, or to publicly tear anyone down,” but rather “because too many women are taught to question themselves before they question what is happening right in front of them.” Serayah offered advice to her followers: “If your intuition is telling you something is wrong, listen to it. Don’t make yourself smaller to keep someone else comfortable. Don’t compromise your values because you’re afraid of losing the future you imagined. And don’t allow someone else’s choices to become a referendum on your worth. Love should not require you to abandon yourself.”

The actress concluded by stating her priorities: “I will always respect the fact that we share a beautiful son, and my priority will be protecting his peace, privacy and relationship with both of his parents. For that reason, I won’t be discussing the intimate details of our relationship publicly beyond what I have shared here. This chapter did not end the way I prayed it would. But endings can also be beginnings.”

Serayah and Joey first met at a mutual friend’s birthday party in 2021. The musician recalled seeing her and thinking, “‘Wow, I’ve never seen a woman so beautiful.’ She was just strikingly gorgeous, and her aura was just kind of radiating,” he told Essence in 2025. “It was really just a silent thought. But it was definitely a very distinctive feeling that I’ve never felt before.” The couple began dating in 2022 and got engaged in July 2025, approximately one month after their son was born. Prior to his relationship with Serayah, Joey was polyamorous, but he stated that his connection with the Ruth & Boaz actress “changed my perspective.” He explained, “It definitely shifted, and the dynamic that I wanted changed. So I’m very much monogamous now, and I don’t discourage or disagree with anybody going after polyamory or whatever if that’s what you want to do. But this is where I’m at now, and this is where I feel secure.”