Over the weekend, TMZ reported that OITNB writer Lauren Morelli and her husband of two years have filed for divorce, and that Morelli is currently in a relationship with actress Samira Wiley.
Neither Morelli nor Wiley has actually confirmed the relationship. The OITNB writer tweeted on Saturday:
It's a noisy place, this world.
Morelli came out in a personal essay earlier this year, writing that working on Orange Is The New Black helped her open up about her own sexuality.
"While writing for Orange Is the New Black, I realized I am gay," read the opening headline.
"I went through it all on set: I fell in love with a woman, and I watched my life play out on screen. And now, as we are gearing up for the release of season 2, it feels liberating and appropriate to live my life in front of you," wrote Morelli.
The news spread quickly through various media outlets:
Forget Piper and Alex, there's a hotter (real life!) Orange Is the New Black couple: http://t.co/JeuJ74QfoB
"Orange is the New Black" writer divorced her husband after realizing she's gay, now dating Poussey http://t.co/YMdr4rMYuE
Orange Is the New Black Writer Lauren Morelli Divorcing Husband, Has Been Dating Star Samira Wiley http://t.co/jQqbFgRdYp
"Orange Is The New Black" writer divorces her husband to start dating Poussey http://t.co/1LGqAlz3Om
Report: OINTB Writer Leaves Husband for Star Samira Wiley - Lauren Morelli finds love with show favorite Poussey. http://t.co/G7Yq8CWItf
And then, fans on Twitter caught wind of the news:
THE WRITER OF ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK IS DATING POUSSEY, FROM ORANGE IS THE BLACK. that shit is crazy
PLEASE TELL ME THE LAUREN MORELLI THING IS TRUE BECAUSE I'M SCREAMING SO LOUDLY RIGHT ABOUT NOW
hold up.. the writer of oitnb divorced her husband and is now dating the actress who plays poussey from the show. Talk about plot twist
A lot of folks were super supportive:
I'd divorce my husband for Samira Wiley too. I'm just saying.
Poussey is gorgeous. If I were a lesbian, married to a man, I'd divorce him, too.
i would divorce my husband too if it meant i could date samira wiley
The Poussey jokes came rolling right in:
"Guess who fuckin your bitch" - Poussey
Poussey so good you need a divorce
from day one you could look in Poussey's eyes and know she's Ms. Steal Yo Girl
On Monday morning, the story was trending on Facebook:
Tumblr users were quick to have their fun as well:
Moms were generally confused:
There was blatant outrage:
And dashboards did some things:
For some people, this is – quite literally – "the biggest news ever."
How do you start dating POUSSEY immediately after coming out? This is the biggest news ever. For lesbians. http://t.co/RyoaputGvR
It gave many hope:
omg @ confirmation that samira wiley is a lesbian. let me pretend i have a chance.
For others, dreams were dashed:
Not everyone was so excited about the headlines:
Pay attention to news and how they frame stories. Writer came out in may but headlines now say she "divorced husb FOR poussey". Tabloidish
the only thing less interesting to me than "orange is the new black" is gossip about the production of "orange is the new black".
If that had been her husband that left her for poussey we for nor hear word.
She divorced her husband to be with Poussey and people say its beautiful. If this has been the other way, well u get my point.
With all these mixed emotions, there seems to be one thing everyone agrees on...
I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this article but mostly "none of my business" crossed with "YAY POUSSEY" http://t.co/sGGYQkff1B
... everyone loves Samira Wiley.
I think everyone have a bit of a crush on Poussey #oitnb
"We do not comment on our client's personal lives," a rep for Samira Wiley told BuzzFeed News when asked for an official comment on the reported relationship.