Lena Waithe is prepping Amazon project on open marriages

The producer wants to challenge society's ideas about marriage

Aug 7, 2020

Lena Waithe continues to make big moves in Hollywood, recently being named TV Producer of the Year by The Hollywood Reporter. Now, she’s gearing up for a new project with Amazon Studios and recently revealed the provocative subject matter of her new material.

The woman behind The Chi, Twenties, and Queen & Slim confirmed she just finished a pilot script for a series that focuses on open marriages.

Lena Waithe thegrio.com — In this screengrab, Lena Waithe speaks during Graduate Together: America (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images for EIF & XQ)

“I’ve never been in an open marriage, but it’s fascinating to me. We live in a world where, if I told you I cheated on my wife, you would be like, ‘Yeah, that’s the way it goes.’ But if I told you that I’m in an open marriage, it would be as if I told you I’m joining the Church of Scientology,” she told THR.

According to Waithe, who revealed the working title of the project is Open, she has every intention of creating art that challenges society’s ideas about marriage.

“My mission is to provide a space for people to grow while making work that people can look at and say, ‘That broke a barrier.’ Society has such a conservative way of looking at marriage,” she continued.

“I do think that we as a nation need to reevaluate what marriage looks like for us as a country — because whatever we have right now, it ain’t working.”

Considering more than 50% of marriages in this country end in divorce, Waithe may be on to something indeed.

The multitalented creative wed Outlier exec Alana Mayo last year, but the marriage was short-lived. The couple announced their split just a few months in.

“After careful thought and consideration, we have decided to part ways,” the pair said in a joint statement in January. “We have nothing but support for one another and ask that you respect our privacy during this time.”

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