Multi-talented artist Serayah McNeill is choosing herself. The new mom shared a lengthy statement on Instagram on Monday (August 24) explaining that she’s ending her engagement to rapper Joey Bada$$ due to ongoing infidelity. 

“There comes a point in a woman’s life when choosing herself is no longer an option, it becomes necessary,” Serayah began her statement. “After much thought, I have made the difficult decision to end my engagement and relationship with the father of my child, Joey. I loved deeply, believed wholeheartedly in the life we were building, and wanted nothing more than to protect our family.”

The former pair began dating in 2023 on a boat during a mutual friend’s birthday party and revealed they were engaged about two years later in July 2025. In her statement, Serayah shared that some of the infidelities took place during “vulnerable” moments. 

“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 wrote. “I share this not for sympathy, retaliation, or to publicly tear anyone down. I share it 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.”

Joey has been open about being non-monogamous in the past (in 2021, he publicly claimed polyamory), but declared he was leaving that lifestyle behind after committing to his former fiancée. 

In May 2025, during a joint interview with ESSENCE, he explained that non-monogamy no longer aligned with his values since meeting the singer. 

“That was where I was at in my life at the time,” he reflects. “I was very much living a lifestyle of a bachelor and it just aligned with what I was doing. But I met Ray, I bought a home, and it just 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. But this is where I’m at now, and this is where I feel secure.”

Shortly after, in June, the former couple gave birth to their son, who would be Seryah’s first child and Joey’s second. 

The Ruth & Boaz actress ended her statement by urging people not to shrink or forfeit their values to sustain a relationship. 

“Don’t make yourself smaller to keep someone else comfortable,” she shared. “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.”

She ended her statement by saying she won’t share any further details about her former relationship and is prioritizing their son and their co-parenting relationship. Sending Serayah love as she heals from this breakup and embarks on new beginnings. 

Author: Elizabeth Ayoola

Read the original article on Essence.