Orange Is the New Black couple Samira Wiley and Lauren Morelli are splitting after nine years of marriage.
The actress, 38, and writer, 43, who met while working together on the Emmy-winning Netflix show, announced on Friday that they had decided to end their marriage.
Videos by PopCulture.com
A representative for the couple told Out that they were “amicably filing for divorce,” and that they remained dedicated to co-parenting their daughter, George Elizabeth, whom they welcomed in April 2021.
“After nine years together we have decided to end our marriage,” they said in a statement, “however, our lifelong commitment to co-parenting will forever remain.”
Wiley and Morelli first met on the set of Orange Is the New Black in December 2012. Wiley starred as Poussey Washington on the prison dramedy, while Morelli wrote for and produced the show throughout its seven seasons at Netflix.
Morelli was married to husband Steve Basilone when she started at Orange Is the New Black, but divorced him in 2014.
Wiley and Morelli then announced their engagement in 2016 on Instagram, sharing a photo of them smiling together as the actress showed off her engagement ring. “Yes,” the caption read simply.
That same year, Morelli told Out of their relationship journey, “I had started questioning my sexuality as a result of being in the [Orange Is the New Black] writers’ room and talking about all the themes on the show. I was still very confused, but I knew the attraction between us felt magnetic.”
“I think — I know — I would not be where I am without Lauren,” Wiley added at the time. “When I was first being thrust into the public eye, I wouldn’t talk about my orientation. Being with Lauren taught me self-love.”
The couple got married in March 2017 in Palm Springs, Calif., and four years later, Morelli gave birth to the couple’s daughter.
Following the end of Orange Is the New Black in 2019, Wiley went on to star in The Handmaid’s Tale opposite Elisabeth Moss, winning an Emmy Award for her role as Moira. Morelli went on to create Tales of the City for Netflix in 2019, adapting Armistead Maupin’s novels into a miniseries.
Most Viewed
-
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 14: Catherine O'Hara attends the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on September 14, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Savion Washington/Getty Images) -
(Credit: Liudmila Chernetska / Getty Images) -
"Enter Sandman" — Coverage of the CBS Original Series NCIS: ORIGINS, scheduled to air on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Austin Stowell as Leroy Jethro Gibbs. -
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 02: (L-R) Milo Ventimiglia, Justin Hartley, Jon Huertas, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chrissy Metz, Chris Sullivan, Mandy Moore, and Sterling K. Brown attend the 39th annual PaleyFest LA – "This Is Us" at Dolby Theatre on April 02, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic)
