Lauren Morelli, the “Orange is the New Black” writer is now dating actress Samira Wiley, who stars as a romantic inmate, Poussey Washington, on the hit Netflix series.
Lauren said she discovered she was gay while writing for the show and that she had a lot of the same feelings and thoughts as the main character, which led to her filing for divorce from husband Steve Balisone.
Shortly after filing for divorce, it has been revealed that she’s been dating Samira Wiley.
Reports confirm that Lauren’s relationship with Samira was not a secret after all they had posted adorable selfies with each other, but it is the filing for the divorce that has thrown their relationship into the spotlight. The reason of filing a divorce is more about her being gay rather than leaving Steve for Wiley as it is being speculated.
The two have filed for divorce jointly according to court documents obtained by TMZ. Morelli had officially come out as being gay via a touching essay for Mic. In the essay, Lauren reveals that she began to question her sexuality only a few months after getting married. Judging by the timeline of the essay, she and her husband decided to divorce sometime around Christmas 2013. She also explained that writing about protagonist Piper Chapman’s (Taylor Schilling) relationship with ex-girlfriend Alex Vause (Laura Prepon) made her realize her sexual orientation.
This is another case where the diversity shown on “Orange is the New Black”, has yet been credited for changing lives both on and off the show.
