Serayah has called off her engagement to Joey Bada$$ after allegations surfaced that the rapper cheated on her, according to reports. The actress addressed the split in a statement posted on her Instagram, saying that choosing herself had become necessary rather than optional. She encouraged other women to trust their instincts and protect their peace, while asking for privacy for herself and her young son going forward.
Serayah and Joey Bada$$ have been building a life together for years. They first crossed paths at a friend's birthday party back in 2021 and stayed friends before romance rumors picked up in 2023, when the two appeared together in the video for his song "Show Me." Joey denied dating her at first. That changed a few months later when he posted a birthday tribute to her on Instagram, effectively confirming what fans had already pieced together.
The relationship moved fast from there. Serayah announced she was pregnant with their first child in February 2025 while walking a runway show, and their son arrived that June. Joey confirmed the engagement a few months later in an unlikely spot: a diss track aimed at TDE's Ray Vaughn. Serayah backed it up with her own Instagram video showing off the ring.
Both of them built their own names long before any of this. Serayah broke out playing Tiana Brown on Empire and has kept working steadily in film and TV since the show ended. Joey Bada$$ came up out of Brooklyn's Pro Era collective as a teenager and has stayed one of the more respected voices in New York rap for over a decade, while also branching into acting and producing. His short film Two Distant Strangers, which he starred in, won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short in 2021.
Now, just over a year after their son was born, that engagement is off. Neither Serayah nor Joey Bada$$ has publicly confirmed the full reason behind the split, and outlets reporting the story have cited unnamed insiders alongside Serayah's own Instagram post. Joey had spoken in past interviews about moving away from polyamory and toward monogamy once the relationship got serious, a shift he credited to his own maturity at the time.
Fans picked up on distance between the couple online before any statement came out, noting fewer joint appearances and a quieter presence from Joey on her page. That suspicion is not new. Back on National Girlfriend Day, when Joey posted a tribute to Serayah, one viral comment under the post read "he just cheating on me in my face," half joking at the time. Serayah's own statement did not name what led to the decision beyond her own well-being and her son's.
No word yet from Joey Bada$$ himself.
