Empire star Serayah has called off her engagement to rapper Joey Bada$$, alleging instances of “repeated infidelity” led to the pair’s split.
“There comes a point in a woman’s life when choosing herself is no longer an option, it becomes necessary,” the actress, 31, wrote via Instagram on Monday, August 24. “After much thought, I have made the difficult decision to end my engagement and relationship with the father of my child, Joey.”
Serayah (real name Serayah Ranee McNeill) and Joey (real name Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott) share a son, whom they welcomed last year.
“I loved deeply, believed wholeheartedly in the life we were building, and wanted nothing more than to protect our family,” Serayah continued. “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.”
Serayah added that she chose to share the statement “not for sympathy, retaliation, or to publicly tear anyone down,” but “because too many women are taught to question themselves before they question what is happening right in front of them.”
“If your intuition is telling you something is wrong, listen to it,” she wrote. “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.”
Serayah concluded, “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.”
Us reached out to a rep for Joey for comment.
Serayah and Joey first met in 2021 at a mutual friend’s birthday party.
“I saw her and I remember thinking to myself, like, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen a woman so beautiful.’ She was just strikingly gorgeous, and her aura was just kind of radiating,” the musician 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 pair began dating in 2022 and got engaged in July 2025, about one month after they welcomed their son.
Prior to his romance with Serayah, Joey was polyamorous. He told Essence that his relationship with the Ruth & Boaz actress “changed my perspective.”
“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,” he explained. “But this is where I’m at now, and this is where I feel secure.”
